The Cleveland Browns hold the second pick in the NFL Draft, no starting-caliber option under center, and the opportunity to plunge themselves into a full-fledged rebuild to reshape the roster for an eventual franchise quarterback.
There’s one move Cleveland can make that would swiftly start that campaign and make 2025 a race to the top of next offseason’s NFL Draft: trading edge rusher Myles Garrett.
On Tuesday, the Browns revealed their major Myles Garrett trade decision.
He isn’t going anywhere.
General manager Andrew Berry was asked about the potential request Garrett implied he’d make if the team did choose to rebuild and how the team is approaching the offseason. Berry swiftly denied any temptation of trading away the team’s best player.
"Correct," Berry said, via Cleveland.com. "You can put that on the record."
If Garrett’s in Cleveland for the long haul, it would behoove the Browns to find a quarterback sooner rather than later, perhaps with the second pick in April’s NFL Draft. It isn’t immediately clear whether that would be Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward, but the fanbase – and its most cherished stars – could use the injection of hope.
If not, pairing a non-quarterback with an established veteran passer makes some sense too. Perhaps that’s Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers, Justin Fields, or Derek Carr, each with their own risk factors. Whomever is under center, they’ll need to be better than what Cleveland witnessed in 2024. By way of regression to the mean or simply being one of the top-32 quarterbacks in the sport, they would provide an upgrade.
The Browns could also consider extending Garrett. This could help keep him satisfied while alleviating some immediate cap hits, thus opening up room for more 2025 reinforcements.
Because other edge rushers have signed since Garrett put pen to paper, the best pass rusher in the sport is no longer the highest paid. He ranks fifth in average annual value ($25 million), fifth in fully guaranteed money ($50 million), and fourth in total value ($125 million), per Over the Cap. Each of those marks could change with an extension.
"We feel really good about Myles obviously as a big piece of our future," Berry said. "We’re looking forward to him being on the field. Like I said in my (early January) press conference, we envision him going from Cleveland to Canton when his career is over."
Garrett, who logged 14 sacks in 2024 to bring his career total to 102.5, is well on his way to Canton? The playoffs is another story, which means Berry’s work is cut out for him if Garrett’s going to sign the dotted line and spend the rest of his playing days in Cleveland.
