Everyone Needs to Chill
The Browns Don’t Have to Trade Myles Garrett
The Myles Garrett trade rumors have Browns fans in full meltdown mode, but let’s all take a deep breath. Yes, Garrett requested a trade, and yes, Klutch Sports is handling this about as gracefully as Jed Wills blocks Garrett in practice. But that doesn’t mean the Browns have to move on from the best, most decorated defensive player in team history. In fact, the odds of a trade actually happening are slim, and if anything, this is more about negotiating leverage than an actual breakup.
First, let’s get one thing straight: the Browns aren’t some hopeless franchise in full rebuild mode. They had a brutal season, but it wasn’t that long ago - just a year ago! - that this same roster had the best defense in the NFL and made the playoffs. There’s a path forward. It’s not like we’re back to the 1-31 days when Duke Johnson was the team's best offensive weapon catching passes from Deshone Kizer. This team has legit talent, and trading Garrett wouldn’t just be painful—it would be a self-inflicted wound that makes competing even harder.
Then there’s the money. The Browns have restructured Garrett’s contract multiple times, and trading him now would trigger a massive cap hit—over $36 million in dead money. The financial reality alone makes a trade extremely complicated, and that’s before we even talk about what it would cost to get him. Spoiler alert: a lot. Any team making a move for Garrett would be coughing up serious draft capital—probably enough to leave them in the same “all-in” hole Cleveland dug for Deshaun Watson. And let’s not ignore the Klutch Sports factor. They didn’t negotiate Garrett’s last deal, but they’re itching to get him his next one, which could be the last huge contract of his career. That doesn’t mean he has to leave Cleveland. Klutch might want to remember that this is the NFL, not the NBA. The Browns have two more years on Garrett's contract and then they could use the franchise tag into his early 30s. If they want to play chicken with the Browns, the Browns are holding some serious cards in their hand. More likely, this whole thing is posturing—putting pressure on the Browns to lock Garrett up with another giant extension. Fans acting like he’s already gone are ignoring how these negotiations work. When the dust settles, Garrett could easily retire in Cleveland after another record-setting contract.
The Browns, for their part, have already said they’re not entertaining offers. That’s important because if they were actually shopping him, we’d be hearing a lot more smoke. Instead, we’re in a classic standoff—Garrett’s camp making noise, the team standing firm, and a fanbase ready to jump off the nearest bridge. But here’s the thing: this situation isn’t dire. If anything, it’s far more likely that Garrett signs an extension than that he gets shipped out for a pile of draft picks. So, let’s all calm down. Could a trade happen? Sure. But it would require the Browns to be willing to eat a mountain of dead cap space and for a team to sell its future to make it work. That’s not an easy deal to pull off. More likely, Myles Garrett stays in Cleveland, gets another payday, and continues to wreck opposing quarterbacks for years to come. Maybe just hold off on the “fire everyone” takes for now.
And lastly, it's time for Browns fans to get some grit. Stop hating yourself so much that you think Garrett deserves to leave, and you might consider following him and becoming a fan of that team. You deserve to continue to root for Garrett in the orange and brown. Have some self-worth, even after a bad season. Grow up. Stop being so emo. We're not Browns fans because it's easy. We're Browns fans because it's a birthright and a curse. You don't break curses by running away from them. You have to run through them.