Shocking news this morning, star defensive end Myles Garrett asked to be traded. This comes a week after Browns GM Andrew Berry told Cleveland Media Garrett was not on the trading block. Did this come as a shock to the Browns? No. According to Dianna Russinihttp://@DRussini “While Myles Garrett’s public trade request is the story of the week already, it wasn’t a surprise to the Cleveland Browns—they’ve known about this request for some time.” So when Berry made those comments, the team already knew of the request.
Garrett has two years remaining on his contract. In 2025 his salary is $19,796,125 and in 2026 it’s $25 million. If the team trades him prior to June 1, which would be the ideal situation to go through free agency and the draft, his dead money would be $36.2 million and the team would have to eat $16.5 million of his remaining contract. This isn’t going to happen. The Browns need all the cap savings they can find to navigate the next two years of the Deshaun Watson contract. As I mentioned earlier, the Browns knew about this for a while. I’ve heard Garrett approached the Browns with his request and the Browns said no, that’s why the public statement by Garrett with Berry’s own words in the statement.
Right now, it’s a public fight and Garrett has no leverage. I remember tight end David Njoku wanting a trade and ended up signing a contract extension. Like I said, Garrett has no leverage in this situation, due to Garrett having two years left on his contract. Also, the Browns are adamant about not trading Garrett. The team could franchise him in 2025 at $72 million. A hold out does no one any good, especially Garrett. I’m inclined to think this is a contract negotiation, similar to Njoku. Garrett wants to be the highest paid defensive player in the league. I understand his frustration, as do all Browns fans, but I can’t see a trade happening because of the financials. Stay safe and Go Browns.