It is looking more and more likely that the Cleveland Browns have a serious Myles Garrett issue on their hands, and the latest reports are only adding fuel to that fire.
Head coach Todd Monken has yet to meet with the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and he won’t be doing so during OTAs this week, as Garrett will not be in attendance. The 30-year-old defensive end has not participated in any offseason work with the franchise to this point, though all of it (including the current OTA sessions) are voluntary based on league rules.
Still, the omens are not good, and insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated indicated recently that Garrett’s time in Cleveland may have run its natural course.
“Things are ‘TBD’ until you hear otherwise,” Breer said, per TheDawgsPodcast on Instagram. “That could be next week. That could be the trade deadline. It’s absolutely something worth paying attention to. This could just be time.”
Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward Both Question Marks in Cleveland
GettyCornerback Denzel Ward of the Cleveland Browns.
Much of the team is in Ohio working out as May draws to a close. However, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported that Garrett won’t be in town, and that the presence of cornerback Denzel Ward, another multiple-time Pro-Bowl selection and potential trade candidate, is also up in the air.
“Myles Garrett is not expected for the second week of voluntary OTAs, and it remains to be seen if Denzel Ward will attend either of the remaining two days this week,” Cabot wrote Tuesday. “But both will be here for mandatory minicamp June 9-11.”
Cleveland boasted the fourth-ranked defense in the NFL last year, in large part because Garrett led the league in both sacks (23, which set the all-time record for a single season) and tackles for loss (33).
He pushed for a trade ahead of his record-breaking 2025 campaign, but then backed off those demands after inking a $160 million extension that keeps him under contract through 2030.
Browns Could Get 3 First-Round Picks in Trade for Myles Garrett
GettyDefensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns
Garrett is at the peak of his trade value, even despite recently passing the age of 30. He turns 31 in late December.
His contract is also liable to look quite good to teams over the next 2-3 seasons given that he is currently the sixth-highest paid pass-rusher in the league and earning a full $10 million less annually than Will Anderson Jr., who just reset the market via a new deal with the Houston Texans.
Were Cleveland to put Garrett on the market, two first-round picks is likely the floor for what the franchise could expect back in trade — as the pass-rusher is literally, by definition, the best defensive player in the league and plays the most premium position on that side of the football.
Maxx Crosby fetched the Las Vegas Raiders two first-round picks from the Baltimore Ravens, though the Ravens ultimately pulled that offer after citing a failed physical. If Crosby — who is less decorated and accomplished than Garrett, and also more frequently injured — can command two firsts, it is reasonable to expect the Browns could potentially garner three first-rounders, and perhaps even more, in a trade for Garrett.
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