Myles Garrett

Six-time Pro Bowl defensive end Myles Garrett has requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns.

In a statement to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Garrett said his "desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won't allow me to be complacent." He added that his ultimate career goal is to become a Super Bowl champion.

A spokesperson for the Browns told the Associated Press' Tom Withers they "aren't entertaining trade offers for Myles."

The trade request comes days after Browns general manager Andrew Berry said the team has no intentions of moving the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who's signed through 2026.

"We feel really good about Myles obviously as a big piece of our future," Berry told reporters. "We're looking forward to him being on the field. Like I said in my (early January) press conference, we envision him going from Cleveland to Canton when his career is over."

The fact Garrett specifically said "the goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton" seems to be a direct response to his GM's remarks.

The 29-year-old's reservations about Cleveland's direction for the near future are understandable.

Acquiring Deshaun Watson and giving him a fully guaranteed $230 million extension has proven to be a catastrophic decision.

Beyond the fact his game has dramatically declined and he can't stay healthy—Watson tore his right Achilles tendon for the second time in January—the three-time Pro Bowler has a $72.9 million salary cap hit for 2025 and 2026. A quarter of the Browns' payroll is tied to a quarterback who has either been hurt or performed well below expectations.

There isn't a way to positively spin Garrett's trade request. He's one of the NFL's premier defensive players, and the Browns would be worse without him on the roster. There's also the optics of having your biggest star basically tell everyone he no longer has faith you can build a championship winner.

The request does at least give Berry cover to more aggressively pursue a move that's going to be widely unpopular within the fanbase. Because Garrett's trade value is likely to be pretty high, the franchise has a straightforward pivot to a rebuild if it chooses, too.

Cleveland already possesses nine picks in the 2025 NFL draft, including the No. 2 overall selection. Dealing Garrett would add to that haul and give the Browns a ton of young, cost-controlled talent to lay the foundation for the future.

Of course, one obvious question is whether Berry should be person to guide any rebuild when he's largely responsible for putting Cleveland in its current position.

Garrett's request can certainly be read as a damning indictment of Berry's tenure.

Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry told three beat reporters at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama that the team won't be trading superstar edge-rusher Myles Garrett, even if an offer includes two first-round picks.

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com was among those who relayed Berry's comments. In addition, Berry said that the team wants him to be a Brown for life, per Zac Jackson of The Athletic.

"We always have a really good and direct two-way communication with our players (and) we feel really good about Myles, obviously, as a big piece of our future," Berry said. "We're looking forward to him being on the field. Like I said in my (early January) press conference, we envision him going from Cleveland to Canton when his career is over."

Garrett's current five-year, $125 million deal expires after the 2026 season.

It's easy to see why the Browns want Garrett, a surefire future Pro Football Hall of Famer, around before he makes his way to Canton.

In eight seasons, Garrett has amassed 102.5 sacks. He's remained on fire in 2024, finishing with a league-high 22 tackles for a loss. He also had 14 sacks and has reached that mark each season from 2021-2024.

The four-time First Team All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler has met the hype and then some for the Browns, who selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

The big problem is whether Garrett would want to stick around Cleveland. The 3-14 Browns look far away from competing for a championship, especially with major question marks at the quarterback position given Deshaun Watson's ineffectiveness coupled with a torn Achilles injury.

And nearing the end of 2024, Garrett made it clear that he wants to be competing and playing in the postseason.

That might be hard to do in Cleveland unless the Browns hit big on their next quarterback and finally get some stability at the position. Playing in the difficult AFC North doesn't help matters either.

At any rate, it's clear the Browns want him back, and Jackson reported that Garrett "probably is headed for a mega-extension to make him the highest paid non-QB in NFL history." It's well-deserved given his consistency and production, but it's also on Cleveland to finally build a consistent winner around him too.

Myles Garrett hyped up rookie Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten in a mid-game interaction caught on camera and shared on NFL Films and HBO's Hard Knocks.

"I know I'm a nobody but, if I could get that jersey after?" Rosengarten asked the Cleveland Browns star when the teams met up on Jan. 4.

"Hey, you're in the league. Y'all winning games. Y'all looking great. You ain't never a nobody," Garrett responded. "I got you."

Garrett put himself on pace for a sixth Pro Bowl nod by leading the NFL with 22 tackles for loss this season.

Rosengarten meanwhile became a key part of the Ravens' offensive line while playing 84 percent of offensive tackles his rookie season.

He was regularly matched up with Garrett as the Ravens looked to clinch the AFC North title and turned out to be an effective counter. Garrett was held to two tackles, and one for loss, in the Browns' 35-10 loss.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson meanwhile avoided taking a sack as he threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 63 yards in the Baltimore win.

Rosengarten, who was selected by the Ravens out of Washington in the second round of the 2024 draft, said before his rookie season that he was excited to "be going against the best of the best within the Ravens organization, and then the rest of the division."

"There's some freak athletes out there, and I think those guys on the edge are definitely top of the pedestal when it comes to that," Rosengarten said on the Ravens' official podcast in May. "I just love the challenge, though. Want to bring it every single day."

There's no question that one of the top edge rushers in the AFC North was Garrett, who entered the season as the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.

After allowing a sack by Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones on his first NFL snap, Rosengarten has developed throughout his rookie season to the point where he can take on top players like Garrett.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett made it abundantly clear last week that he wants to play for a contender.

"I want to win. I want the Browns to put me and us in a position to win. I'm not trying to rebuild, I'm trying to win right now," he told reporters. "There's gotta be a plan of action and just gotta know where things are going."

On Friday, he told reporters that he's since spoken to Cleveland's front office regarding that stance:

He also said he's consulted with LeBron James—who spent 11 seasons playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers and remains a Browns fan—over the years.

"I mean, he's seen everything on the sports side of it. His advice has been very valuable," he said. "Him, his team, just being able to be around them and learn from them has been very useful these last couple of years. ... Definitely using my platform, my voice, to my benefit and my team's benefit. It's been crucial."

The Browns, meanwhile, are at a crossroads. The team is mired in a 3-12 season and will have to make a very important decision on the quarterback position in the offseason.

Normally, Deshaun Watson's struggles before his season-ending ruptured right Achilles' tendon—he threw for just 1,148 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions in seven games, completing 63.4 percent of his passes and take an unfathomable 33 sacks (and the numbers don't really do justice for how poor he was)—would have made the team's decision at quarterback fairly simple. It would be time to find a replacement.

But the Browns are on the hook for every penny of Watson's five-year, $230 million contract, which is fully guaranteed, runs through the 2026 campaign and has a full no-trade clause between 2024-26. They did rework his deal, yet again, to make it slightly more friendly to the team in future years from a salary cap perspective, though he'll still get the entirety of his guaranteed money.

None of the above is keeping the Browns from drafting his successor and making Watson the most ridiculously expensive backup quarterback in NFL history, of course. But committing that much of the salary cap to dead weight severely limits the team's ability to field a contender around superstars like Garrett (it should be noted that Garrett said his comments last week weren't a dig at Watson).

And the dominant defensive end has done his part in what has been a brutal season for the Browns, registering 41 tackles (18 for loss), 12 sacks, 26 quarterback hits and a fumble recovery. He remains one of the NFL's most disruptive defensive forces.

If Cleveland is staring down a rebuild while they wait out the Watson contract, one option would be to trade Garrett to a contender, potentially getting back multiple first-round picks in the process and jumpstarting the retooling effort.

It's possible that Garrett has already seen that writing on the wall. It remains to be seen if Cleveland's front office is doing the same math.

Cleveland Browns star pass-rusher Myles Garrett doesn't want to be part of a potential rebuild.

"Well, for me, I mean first of all I want to win," Garrett said, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. "I want the Browns to be able to put me and us in position to win. I'm not trying to rebuild. I'm trying to win right now. I want that to be apparent, when the season's over and we have those discussions, I want them to be able to illuminate that for me, illustrate that for me, so that can be something that I can see in the near future."

The Browns currently sit at 3-11 this season after making the playoffs in 2023, but Garrett acknowledged that injuries to multiple key players have impacted the team's poor record.

"But we have to do, at the end of the day, what's best for us," Garrett said, via Cabot. "So if we have that alignment where this is something that is still possible in the near future, winning, going deep in the playoffs, putting a great defense out there, having a time of possession, running-game offense. Getting all the guys back. I think that would really keep my mind at rest, keep me settled."

"Not just mine, a lot of the guys on the defense, the D-line, around the team, but we have to continue to take strides forward, not just as players, but from the top down," he added.

The 28-year-old also discussed the possibility of moving on from Cleveland if the team decides to rebuild, but he expressed his current desire to remain with the organization.

"I mean, it's a possibility, but I want to be a Cleveland Brown," Garrett said. "I want to play here, play my career here. But if we choose to do a rebuild and it's two, three, four years out, I want be able to compete and play at a high level, play meaningful games and be playing past January."

The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has been one of the few bright spots for the Browns this season, as he's continued to wreck opposing backfields.

In 14 starts, Garrett has racked up 11 sacks, 41 pressures, 38 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles. He has reached double-digit sack totals in each of the past seven seasons.

His 23 percent pass-rush win rate is the fifth-highest mark in the NFL through Week 15's action, per ESPN.

Cleveland's defense as a whole has taken a step back in 2024, though. After the Browns ranked No. 13 among all teams by allowing 21.3 points per game last season, they now rank No. 26 this year by giving up 25.4 points each week.

The team's long-term outlook is murky, as starting quarterback Deshaun Watson struggled mightily in seven starts before a ruptured Achilles ended his season. Watson is still under contract in 2025 and 2026.

Four-time Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb didn't make his season debut until Week 7 after recovering from knee surgery. Chubb appeared in eight games before suffering a broken foot that will keep him out for the rest of the year.

The Browns have won at least seven games in each of their prior four seasons under head coach Kevin Stefanski, which could provide optimism that the team will bounce back in 2025.

However, Garrett doesn't appear to be willing to stick around if Cleveland ultimately chooses to rebuild its roster.

After taking down T.J. Watt and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett reminded everyone of his status.

The 28-year-old showed respect for Watt, but ultimately said he's still the best defensive player in the NFL.

"I've got a lot of respect for him, a lot of respect for all the guys over there," Garrett told NFL on Prime Video. "I'm No. 1. Edge defender one, edge one, to Defensive Player of the Year. I'm the guy. That runs through me, there's no other person being defended as I am or schemed or planned against like I am. So just goes to show, you can throw that out the window, I'm going to find a way."

Garrett had one of his best games of the season in the win, totaling five tackles including three sacks and a forced fumble. It was his second game of the year with three sacks and he's now up to 10 on the season, the second-best mark in the league.

Watt had four tackles and one tackle for loss, but he didn't pick up any sacks on Thursday. He has 31 tackles, 7.5 sacks and four forced fumbles this year.

There was a bit of controversy last year when Garrett took home the Defensive Player of the Year award over Watt. The Steelers star even took to social media to voice his frustration over the snub.

Watt had 68 tackles, 19 sacks, four forced fumbles and an interception a season ago, while Garrett posted 42 tackles, 14 sacks and four forced fumbles.

Garrett and Watt, who came into the league the same year, have been two of the best defensive players for years now and have had some back and forth with each other, with the Browns star fanning the flames on Thursday.

But Watt can rest assured that while Garrett believes he's No. 1, the Steelers have had an objectively better season than the Browns.

Pittsburgh dropped to 8-3 with the loss, but it is still well on its way to the playoffs and sits atop the AFC North. Cleveland, meanwhile, is 3-8 with hardly any chance of reaching the postseason at this point.

Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett's Terminator Halloween costume attracted plenty of attention and drew praise from Arnold Schwarzenegger himself.

The Terimnator actor and former bodybuilder complimented Garrett's ensemble in a post on X.

Garrett wore the costume ahead of the Browns' surprising 29-24 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. While the five-time Pro Bowl pass-rusher wasn't able to record a sack, Cleveland still took down Ravens signal-caller Lamar Jackson three times during the victory.

As he's developed into one of the NFL's best defensive players, Garrett has also celebrated Halloween with unique costumes each year.

He also decorated his yard with gravestones representing opposing quarterbacks during his 2021 campaign.

Although his sack total is relatively low this season, Garrett has still remained a crucial part of the Browns' front seven after winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2023.

He's recorded four sacks, seven tackles for loss and two forced fumbles this season. Pro Football Focus has given him an impressive 91.5 grade in 2024, as his 36 total pressures rank No. 5 among all players.

He'll attempt to lead the Browns to a second consecutive win against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 9.

NFL teams looking for pass-rushing help ahead of the Nov. 5 trade deadline will reportedly have to settle for options beyond the headline names.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Sunday the Las Vegas Raiders will not make Maxx Crosby available. The update comes after NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported the Cleveland Browns do not plan on trading Myles Garrett.

Cleveland may move another defensive end, though, as Schefter called Za'Darius Smith "one of the most logical pass-rushing trade targets" given the updates around Crosby and Garrett.

It is anything but surprising the Browns may trade Smith, as they are 1-6 and largely playing out the string on what is shaping up to be a lost season.

They already traded wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills, and quarterback Deshaun Watson is out for the season with an Achilles injury. While trading someone like Garrett, who is one of the best players in the entire league, would bring in a larger return package, the team surely wants him to anchor its defense in future seasons.

Garrett is under contract through the 2026 season, while the 2025 campaign is the final one on Smith's current deal.

Smith may be a consolation prize for teams that were interested in Garrett and Crosby, but he has an impressive resume that includes three Pro Bowl selections. The 32-year-old has played for the Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Browns since he was a fourth-rounder in the 2015 NFL draft.

This is his second year with Cleveland, and he already has four sacks through seven games. He also isn't far removed from the 2022 season when he posted 10 sacks, which was the third time in a four-year span he reached double-digit sacks.

While Smith has benefited from playing alongside Garrett, who is constantly drawing double teams, he could provide veteran leadership for a team down the stretch as he pursues the first Super Bowl ring of his career.

And Cleveland could get a draft pick in return as it attempts to accelerate a rebuild during a disappointing season.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is not on the trade block.

Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that the Browns "do not plan to trade" Garrett "despite teams calling" about his availability following Cleveland's trade of wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills.

Garrett has three seasons remaining on his current contract.

Garrett also addressed the trade possibilities, telling reporters that he is "staying here" during a press conference on Friday.

He has registered four sacks, two forced fumbles and 17 total tackles through seven games in 2024 and is coming off of a 2023 season where he was a first-team All-Pro and won the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

He is the face of the Browns' defense and only would be a trade candidate to recoup significant value. Cleveland is currently 1-6 and quarterback Deshaun Watson is out for the season with a ruptured Achilles.

Instead of moving him, the Browns will hope they can retool around him and return to being competitive next season.