The bold decision to trade Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams has fans asking some rightfully pointed questions, especially when looking back at the offseason as a whole. Chief among them: Are the Browns tanking or trying to win in 2026? The answer is complicated, if for no other reason than that the organization itself has sent the fan base and the NFL-watching world at large wildly conflicting messages.
While the concept of tanking had shed its taboo label and become something of a revered strategy among sports fans, few NFL teams have displayed the gumption to actually go through with it. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find a team that fully committed to the bit as much as the 2016 Cleveland Browns. Despite the loss of dignity that 1–15 brings a franchise, they accomplished their goal. They got the first pick in the draft and nabbed Myles Garrett.
In 2016, the Browns were on the heels of a 3–13 season. They spent the 23rd most money in free agency afterwards — it might as well have been a glowing 'TANKING' sign affixed to the stadium entryway. They leaped to 6th in spending the following year, agreeing to more than $110 million in free agent contracts to standout guard Kevin Zeitler, center J.C. Tretter, and wide receiver Kenny Britt. Then, despite the bravery of, you know, trying, the Browns proved there was no on/off switch to winning and losing.
The 2016 season was coordinated. When 2017 unfolded winlessly, Sashi Brown and Hue Jackson — the duo that sold Browns ownership on the plan — had to fall on their swords. Such is life in the NFL, and it may explain precisely the reason Andrew Berry has opted only to take half of his medicine. That selfish decision could set the Browns back even further.
The Browns' refusal to embrace their rebuild could keep them in the NFL's purgatory of mediocrity
All was fine and well when the outlaw Todd Monken strolled into his introductory press conference in cowboy boots, a beer can in one hand, and a wheat stalk hanging out of his mouth, talking about how he's in Cleveland to win now. Alright, so none of that happened — minus the part where Monken made it clear he wasn't here to lose.
While many questioned the thinking of forging on with this version of the Cleveland Browns, Andrew Berry spent, and ownership approved, an eerily familiar $110 million through free agency. That was 13th-most in the league, and a significant development when considering the cap levers Berry had to pull to make it happen.
So again, while you could question the idea of building around Shedeur Sanders (or 30-year-old, twice-torn-Achilles Deshaun Watson) there's at least nobility in going after it. Perhaps the football gods look favorably on that. A gaze at lowly Pittsburgh provides evidence that eh, maybe not. In any case, the decision to trade Myles Garrett has completely flipped the script.
Yes, they received Jared Verse in return, who is a fantastic player to be sure. And they got some high-value draft picks, though let's face it — they're lottery tickets. You wouldn't see the Kansas City Chiefs trade Patrick Mahomes or Travis Kelce. The Buffalo Bills wouldn't move off Josh Allen for any price in the world. The Ravens will hold onto Lamar Jackson as long as they can. When you're trying to win, what's the sense in trading your best player?
The reality is, there isn't any. No matter the word salad cobbled together by a PR team and recited at a podium by Monken, Berry, or the Haslams themselves, the Browns chose the future over the present. That would've been totally fine and understandable — if they did it before treating free agency as the polar opposite.
The Browns could've spent minimally and used this year to get their chaotic books in order. They still could've drafted all their fancy new rookies and gone into the year with one of the least expensive teams in the league. Instead, they improved just enough around the margins to probably win between five and seven games next year, an exact repeat of 2025, and miss out on the draft's top eligible QB or QBs.
Imagine tearing down the first floor of your home while simultaneously building a second floor. That's exactly what the Browns are doing, and the preposterous picture in your mind should tell you everything you need to know about how it will work out. If the Browns somehow emerge from this with a top-tier quarterback, it won't be because of some big-brained strategy paying off — it'll be because a broken clock is right twice a day.
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