The Cleveland Browns and Myles Garrett have officially moved on from one another. While surprising to a degree, the writing had been on the wall since Garrett publicly requested a trade early in the 2025 offseason, only to secure a record-breaking deal at the time. Ironically, said contract included a no-trade clause.
Garrett clearly wanted control of his future, and in many ways he got it. He had final say on his new destination, essentially lowering his potential trade value. That's why general manager Andrew Berry chose to play the long game.
Berry's tone changed from one season to the other. The "he'll be a Brown for life" narrative subtly but noticeably took a bit of a turn. While Berry never said the Browns were shopping Garrett, other teams saw an opening and had been all over Garrett for a while. Berry still waited for the right offer.
While some Browns fans might feel like the team didn't get enough in return — even though Jared Verse has superstar potential — the returns could have actually been far more underwhelming last offseason.
As ESPN's Bill Barnwell explained, Berry's patience was crucial on this deal.
“Clearing out cap space is one thing, but did the Browns actually get enough to justify trading their best player? I suspect the offers were better this year than they were last year, given that we've seen the league heavily lean toward paying premiums to acquire veteran defensive linemen such as Quinnen Williams, Dexter Lawrence II and Maxx Crosby, even if the latter's deal ended up being annulled,” Barnwell wrote. “It would have been surprising to see a team trade two first-round picks for a 29-year-old edge rusher last year, even one as talented and productive as Garrett. But one year later, with the Browns already having paid $25 million of his deal, anything short of two first-round picks would have seemed like a discount. Garrett is a year older, but he's also coming off what might be his most dominant pro season. And in this market, teams like the Browns are empowered to ask for more while having realistic comparables to justify big price tags.”
Waiting an extra year allowed Cleveland to capitalize on a booming pass-rusher trade market
Of course, Berry wasn't the one who traded Maxx Crosby, Dexter Lawrence or Quinnen Williams, but by not jumping the gun to move on from his disgruntled superstar, he let the market drive the asking price. That wouldn't have been possible without the Micah Parsons trade, or others that came before the Garrett deal.
There's never a good moment to trade one of the greatest players in football history. But if there was something even remotely close to the right time, it was now. Garrett's trade value likely wouldn't get much higher, with him now in his 30s and fresh off one of the greatest single-season performances of all time.
Trying to say the Browns are a better football team without Myles Garrett is a futile argument. There's no objective reason to say that, and those who don't feel that way won't change their minds. That said, Jared Verse is one of the few players in the league who could have lessened the blow of losing the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
Moreover, Garrett may have already proved the Browns were right all along. He was quick to show up for OTAs in Los Angeles, something he rarely did in Cleveland. Heck, he didn't even have the common courtesy to return his new head coach's calls. Even if Garrett was upset over the Browns picking Todd Monken over former defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, that's just not what leaders do.
Garrett outgrew the organization. As a generational player, he earned the right to compete for a Super Bowl while he's still in his prime.
That doesn't mean the Browns owed him anything. If he was going to be unhappy and disengaged, getting this type of return certainly feels like even more of a king's ransom.
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