Myles Garrett, the reigning NFL defensive participant of the yr, says he desires to be traded by the Cleveland Browns to be able to get a sensible shot at profitable a championship.
“As a child dreaming of the NFL, all I targeted on was the last word purpose of profitable a Tremendous Bowl – and that purpose fuels me at the moment greater than ever,” Garrett wrote in a press release. “My love for the group of Northeast Ohio and the unbelievable fanbase of the Cleveland Browns has made this one of many hardest selections of my life. These previous eight years have formed me into the person that I’m at the moment.
“Whereas I’ve cherished calling this metropolis my house, my need to win and compete on the largest levels received’t enable me to be complacent. The purpose was by no means to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has at all times been to compete for and win a Tremendous Bowl. With that in thoughts, I’ve a requested to be traded from the Cleveland Browns.”
The Browns chosen Garrett with the No 1 general decide within the 2017 draft and he has delivered on his potential, growing right into a massively disruptive pressure at defensive finish who’s now the Browns’ all-time chief in sacks. He’s additionally a four-time first-team All Professional, a six-time Professional Bowler and was named defensive participant of the yr in 2023.
Nonetheless, the Browns have largely didn’t encompass him with a succesful crew. Within the eight seasons since Garrett was drafted, the Browns have reached the playoffs simply twice, by no means progressing past the divisional spherical. In his first season the Browns misplaced all 16 of their video games; In 2024, they went 3-14. They’ve additionally struggled since awarding quarterback Deshaun Watson a file contract after touchdown him in a commerce with the Houston Texans. Watson’s tenure has been troubled by poor play, controversies over allegations of sexual assault and a sequence of accidents.
The 29-year-old’s request comes regardless of Browns basic supervisor Andrew Berry saying he wouldn’t take into account buying and selling Garrett this offseason. Garrett signed a five-year, $125m contract extension with the Browns in 2020.