Myles Garrett Considering Drastic Action After Standoff With Browns Owner

Things have seemingly gone from bad to worse for Cleveland Browns star pass-rusher Myles Garrett.

The 29-year-old All-Pro made it clear after the season ended that he didn’t believe the Browns were close to competing for a Super Bowl and that he wanted out, informing general manager Andrew Berry that he wanted to be traded elsewhere.

However, the Browns have dug their heels in and remained adamant that they have zero intention of sending Garrett anywhere. Berry even reportedly informed teams at the NFL combine last week there he’s not even willing to entertain any offers for the six-time Pro Bowl defensive end.

But things took an even more complicated turn for Garrett on Friday morning after he requested a meeting with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam only to be denied, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, who shared the details about the turmoil Garrett is going through on “The Rich Eisen Show.”

“Myles Garrett, he’s seen absolutely no movement…but he feels like, ‘I’ve been the face of the franchise for close to a decade, I’ve given you a lot of good years, I’ve won Defensive Player of the Year, we’ve been to the playoffs, we won a playoff game, but it’s time for me, as a Hall of Fame-caliber player, I should have a voice in this,’” Pelissero said.

“And when Andrew Berry was not willing to move on that, Myles tried to go to Jimmy Haslam. From my understanding, Myles basically said, ‘Hey, I want to come in and meet and talk.’ And Jimmy basically said, ‘I’m not getting involved. Go talk to Andrew Berry,’ who of course has already rejected all the overtures they made to try and trade Myles Garrett.”

Because of Haslam and Berry’s refusal to explore any trades offers for Garrett—a move that would cost Cleveland $36.21 million in dead cap on top of taking a $16.49 million loss in cap space if done pre-June 1 or would result in a $14.75 million dead-cap hit with $4.93 million in cap savings if done post-June 1—the former No. 1 overall pick is reportedly considering a bold move to force the team’s hand.

“Now Myles Garrett is, from what I’m told, beginning to contemplate the very real idea that if the Browns don’t trade him, he might have to sit out games,” Pelissero added. “He might have to sit out into next season, which of course, every player’s greatest leverage is, ‘I’m not going to be out there if I don’t get to go to the place that I want to.’”

In the prime of his career, Garrett presumably doesn’t want to miss any significant playing time, but the threat of a holdout may be the only card he has left to play.

Threatening to sit out games to force a team’s front office to do business has worked for players before, like San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk last year, but it’s also blown up in other players’ faces, like former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Von Bell back in 2018.