The Cleveland Browns' defense is far from a weakness.
Led by defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, cornerback Denzel Ward, and defensive edge Myles Garrett, the Browns have found a ton of success in recent seasons behind their defense and its stars. That's what makes Garrett's recent request to be traded from the Browns pretty jarring.
Garrett, who requested the trade on the Monday after Pro Bowl weekend, wants to go play for a contender - or, at the very least, for a winning team. That's a valid request, especially considering that the Browns don't seem primed to be a winning team again anytime soon. Still, losing Garrett would be a huge blow to their biggest strength - their defense and ability to stay in games because of it.
Now, because of that huge request, it seems like other major players for the Browns are re-thinking their future with the team.
Denzel Ward gets real about Myles Garrett's trade request
Ward, who was in attendance at various media stops ahead of Super Bowl LIX, told Cleveland.com that while he wants to play for the Browns and has no intentions of leaving anytime soon, he wants to let the cards fall where they may and hold off on making any grand commitments before seeing what happens with his partner in crime on defense.
“I’m not going to say I don’t want to be here,” he said. “I definitely want to be in Cleveland and play for Cleveland, but I think it’s just tough. I would hope we wouldn’t trade a guy like Myles Garrett away. That would be hard to see, and I would have to see the idea of, ‘are we trying to win if we’re trading Hall of Fame players like that?’ We’ve just got to wait to see what happens, but I want to play with Myles though,” said Ward.
Read more: It sure seems like the Cleveland Browns are headed for a total rebuild
He added that they're like "Shaq and Kobe," and that playing without Garrett would just defeat the purpose of Cleveland's defensive schemes.
He's right to observe this. Ward is the lockdown defender the Browns need in the secondary to help support Garrett on the front lines of the defense. They complement each other well, as proven by both being selected for the Pro Bowl. Without Garrett, Ward's sure to feel like he's out on an island on defense, likely never to get the same elite level of help that Garrett provides again.
He's also been with the team almost as long as Garrett has been - seven years. After being drafted fourth overall in 2018, Ward has also yet to see truly winning football with Cleveland.
If Ward asks out after Garrett's departure, then you can expect to see some even more chaotic times ahead for the Browns as they stumble their way towards another inevitable rebuild. Ward might not want to be blunt and say that's what he wants right now, but he'll surely get more loud about it if the team does deal Garrett.