The Cleveland Browns mostly stood pat at the NFL trade deadline, only moving backup edge rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka in a small deal. But very briefly, there was some trade speculation surrounding Myles Garrett.
Garrett signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension with the Browns back in March, but it’s important to remember that the superstar defensive end demanded a trade at the beginning of the offseason.
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The fact that Garrett has also expressed visible frustration with the way things have gone in Cleveland this season made people wonder if some potential friction could result in a trade deadline move, especially considering there were rumors that the Browns could have landed a massive haul for the former Defensive Player of the Year.
But ultimately, Garrett stayed put, and on Friday, he opened up about the surprising trade conjecture.
“I wasn’t concerned with anything involving a trade with me or anybody else on this team,” Garrett told reporters. “I was just focused on getting right, feeling better, getting my head in a better space after the week before and trying to find a way to continue bringing it every week.”
There was probably never a real chance the Browns were going to move Garrett. Not only did they make it very clear that they see him as a critical part of their future by handing him such a lucrative extension, but they also would have absorbed a $68 million dead cap hit for 2026 if they decided to trade him midseason.
“I think y’all were more concerned with the trade deadline than I was,” Garrett added. “I didn’t even know what day it was until someone told me. So, me, I was just concerned about being home, seeing my family, being able to get back to my family members, seeing my niece, you know, get to be home and be around my parents. You know, that was of much more concerned to me about any more than any news that I was hearing here.”
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Garrett racked up five sacks in Cleveland’s Week 8 loss to the New England Patriots and then got a chance to relax during the Browns’ bye week. He has already posted 10 sacks on the year, giving him eight straight double-digit sack campaigns.
The former No. 1 overall pick has made six Pro Bowls and is well on his way to a seventh.
Cleveland is 2-6 this season and will face the New York Jets on Sunday.
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