Earlier Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine, a report from Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot surfaced that Cleveland Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett, who had previously requested a trade, was now willing to sign a contract extension with the team making him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL.
Now though, following another report from Cabot Thursday, Garrett is “not open” to any extension with the Browns and reiterated his request to be traded.
“Myles Garrett is ‘not open to’ a contract extension with the Browns, a league source told cleveland.com on Thursday,” Cabot wrote. “Normally, Browns GM Andrew Berry meets with agents here at the NFL Combine about such matters, but Garrett and his camp have slammed the door shut on negotiations.
“Garrett has requested a trade from the Browns so he can go elsewhere to win a Super Bowl, and he’s adamantly stated it’s not about the money.”
Garrett, who won the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award in 2023 over Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt, requested a trade on Feb. 3. Garrett stated a desire to win, something he has not done much of in Cleveland since being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M.
Across eight seasons with the Browns, Garrett has put together a Hall of Fame resume, recording 102.5 sacks and becoming the youngest player in NFL history to 100 career sacks.
The Browns and GM Andrew Berry have stated they have no desire to entertain trade offers and won’t move Garrett. Head coach Kevin Stefanski doubled down on that at the NFL Scouting Combine.
“I expect Myles on our football team this year, next year, the year after that and so on,” Stefanski said Wednesday via AP writer Rob Maaddi on Twitter. “He’s part of the present and the future.”
Berry stated his desire to sign Garrett to a contract extension to make him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL, surpassing San Francisco’s Nick Bosa, which could come at a time when likes of Watt and Dallas’ Micah Parsons, not to mention Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson are in line for new deals.
But based on Cabot’s latest report, that won’t be happening with Garrett, as his side has slammed the door shut on any contract talks with Cleveland.
We’ll see where the Garrett saga leads to next.
