BEREA, Ohio -- Though Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett registered his fourth consecutive season with 14 or more sacks in 2024 and continued to establish himself as one of greatest pass rushers of his generation, his accomplishments felt hollow in the midst of a 3-14 finish.
In the face of another lost year -- the sixth losing season he has endured since entering the NFL in 2017 -- Garrett on multiple occasions stated his desire for his personal accolades to be paired with team success.
"That's a nice accomplishment to have," Garrett said in late December after he joined Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor as the only players in league history with at least 12 sacks in five straight seasons.
"But we remember LT because he won [two Super Bowls] and did all those things."
On Monday, Garrett released a statement requesting a trade from Cleveland, who drafted him with the first overall pick in the 2017 draft. In part, Garrett said, "my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won't allow me to be complacent."
Multiple team sources told ESPN in the aftermath of the trade request on Monday that the Browns have no plans to trade Garrett, the NFL's reigning Defensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the award again this season. Cleveland, which holds the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, faces a busy offseason with a glaring quarterback question after Deshaun Watson's latest injury and needs across the roster.
While trading Garrett could in theory net the team the necessary assets to replenish the roster for the long term, there are hurdles to a deal, in addition to the on-field impact of jettisoning a franchise great who in December became the fourth-fastest player in NFL history to record 100 career sacks.
Twice in the past month, Browns general manager Andrew Berry publicly stated he had no intentions of trading Garrett. At the Senior Bowl last week, he told reporters that he would not entertain a hypothetical offer of two first-round picks for the franchise cornerstone. In addition, he said he was open to a new deal for Garrett, who has two years remaining on the five-year, $125 million extension that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in 2020.
Garrett's trade request will test the limits of Berry's resolve.
However, the nature of Garrett's contract and the Browns' cap situation could make a trade unpalatable for Cleveland. In recent years, the organization has been aggressive in restructuring contracts to free short-term cap space and pushing cap hits into future years. The Browns have done that with Garrett's contract, so trading him before June 1 would bring a hefty dead cap charge of $36 million. A post-June 1 trade would come with a dead cap charge of $14.8 million and cap savings of almost $5 million. But any draft picks recouped by Cleveland would be in 2026 and future years, preventing the team from adding the young contributors it needs for a swift turnaround in 2025.
The Browns are already more than $60 million over the 2025 cap but the NFL permits teams to carry over unused cap space into the following league year. The Browns will carry over close to $50 million in space and make additional moves to become cap compliant before free agency opens.
In recent years, trades for star pass rushers have netted significant returns. In 2018, 27-year-old Khalil Mack was traded from the then-Oakland Raiders to the Chicago Bears. Oakland received two first-round picks, a third-round pick, and a sixth-round pick for Mack, while sending a second-round pick, and a conditional fifth-round pick to Chicago.
And last offseason, the New York Giants traded a second-round pick, a fifth-round pick and swapped fifth-round picks with the Carolina Panthers for edge rusher Brian Burns.
Garrett, a six-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro selection, will turn 30 in December. The 2022 trade for Watson left Cleveland without a first-round pick for three straight seasons and the Browns relinquished additional draft capital to get the former Pro Bowler, in addition to giving him a fully-guaranteed $230 million deal. The move has left Cleveland with one of the oldest rosters in the league and a dearth of young talent on inexpensive, rookie deals.
Since making his debut in Cleveland, Watson has posted one of the lowest Total QBRs in the NFL and has sustained season-ending injuries in back-to-back years. He is likely to miss a significant portion of the 2025 season after retearing his right Achilles tendon, just three months removed from his initial surgery. Berry has said the team's quarterback room will look different in 2025 and the organization has been pondering additions both in free agency and the draft.
Despite the three-win season -- one that followed an 11-6 record in the 2023 season and a trip to the wild-card round -- Berry has been optimistic that the team could quickly reverse its fortunes, pointing to the success of the Washington Commanders, who like the Browns held the No. 2 pick last year.
The question now is if Garrett will be around to assist the Browns in those efforts.