As if the 3-14 season the Cleveland Browns put their long-suffering fanbase through wasn’t painful enough, former Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett threw some salt in the wounds by publicly requesting a trade.
General Manager Andrew Berry has reiterated that the front office has no plans to honor that request and that they still view Garrett as a pivotal part of the team’s future, but one analyst now feels that this situation is about to get “ugly.”
Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports recently wrote an article predicting that the standoff will get ugly and wondering which side will fold first.
“The Myles Garrett standoff will get ugly. Were the Browns going to posture differently concerning Myles Garrett’s trade request after his very public Super Bowl radio row tour? No. What will happen and which side will fold first? Stay tuned,” Dajani wrote.
The holdup is that the Browns’ front office is resistant to rebuilding and intends on pushing forward and competing immediately, while Garrett doesn’t see things that way and wants to compete for championships elsewhere since he doesn’t think the Browns are prepared to do so right now.
Perhaps a strong offseason would help change Garrett’s mind, but it’s tough to see that sort of outcome on the horizon, even though Cleveland has the No. 2 pick.
If the Browns hold off on a rebuild and keep Garrett, it could make the rebuild longer and more painful since Garrett represents the team’s best trade asset.
They could move Garrett and likely fetch a pair of first-round picks to speed up the process given the fact that Garrett is fresh off a seventh consecutive double-digit sack season and is still young and productive enough that every contender in the league will be lining up for a chance to acquire his services.
Things could get ugly in Cleveland this offseason, so hopefully, this will be resolved sooner rather than later.
