Cleveland Browns pass-rusher Myles Garrett "is preparing to miss games if he’s not traded" before Week 1 of the 2025 season arrives in September, according to NFL Media's Tom Pelissero on Friday.
The same report revealed Browns owner Jimmy Haslam recently "declined to speak" with Garrett about Garrett's desire to be traded to an advertised championship contender.
Browns and NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports later suggested Garrett is not bluffing about his threat to miss games.
"I may not know another superstar who could so quickly pivot to another 'purpose,'" Kinkhabwala said about Garrett via X (formerly known as Twitter). "Garrett has never defined himself solely by football. In a game of chicken, this is a man who could easily go write anime or live abroad until he gets his way."
The Browns have Garrett under contract through the 2026 season via a deal that doesn't include a no-trade clause. Cleveland reportedly is ready to make him the NFL's highest-paid defensive player if he experiences a change of heart, but he has "slammed the door shut on negotiations" with his current employer.
NFL Media's Tom Pelissero repeated previous claims when he said on Friday morning that "the Browns organization — from ownership to GM to coach — is aligned on its offseason plan, which does not include trading Myles Garrett." Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, along with others, hinted as recently as Thursday that general manager Andrew Berry hopes that finding an upgrade at quarterback this offseason could convince Garrett to feature for the club through the 2025 season.
According to Kinkhabwala, the ongoing standoff between the Browns and Garrett "has been brewing and isn’t ONLY about the QB" coming off Cleveland's 3-14 campaign.
"When Myles Garrett was playing through injuries to both feet, a thigh and an Achilles [this past season], he told our 'NFL on CBS' crew how bothered he was that certain Browns teammates weren’t giving better energy. He said he’d called out offensive teammates for their body language," Kinkhabwala added. "And when I asked why, if he was so irritated, he didn’t just have surgery, he said, 'I want to win. This is my purpose until it’s not.'"
Plenty can and will happen between the second full weekend of March and when Garrett will have to decide if he's actually willing to forfeit some salary by sitting out even one meaningful game. If nothing else, Friday's developments indicate this saga could drag on well into the summer.
