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Browns seem prepared for standoff with Myles Garrett, but should they reconsider trade stance?
The Cleveland Browns aren't changing their trade stance on edge-rusher Myles Garrett anytime soon, but should they?
In a story published Sunday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported the Browns have said "no" to all proposed trades, even though they would probably receive a haul for Garrett.
"Others around the league are skeptical, though, suggesting the Browns should capitalize on the multiple first-round picks available to them to move on," wrote Fowler. "I just get the impression the Browns are not moving off their stance."
ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi recently reported that Garrett — who is entering the fourth year of a five-year, $125M contract in 2025 — is not open to an extension with Cleveland.
The Browns, however, could use a Garrett trade to acquire more draft capital and plug their roster holes.
In a recent trade proposal from CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan, the Browns sent Garrett to the Detroit Lions for two first-round picks.
Other championship contenders could also be willing to give up first-rounders to land Garrett. On Saturday, the Athletic's Dianna Russini reported the Philadelphia Eagles — the reigning Super Bowl champions — have "real interest" in the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year.
Cleveland has the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. In his latest mock draft, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has the Browns selecting Miami quarterback Cam Ward. They could use a second first-round pick to select an offensive lineman to provide more protection for a rookie QB, perhaps Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou or North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel.
Replacing Garrett would be difficult for Cleveland. Since being drafted No. 1 overall by the Browns in 2017, he has earned four first-team All-Pro nods.
It would also be expensive. Per Over the Cap, Cleveland would incur $14.76M in dead cap and save $4.96M if it dealt Garrett with a post-June 1 designation.
Still, keeping Garrett probably won't improve the Browns' championship chances. As of Sunday, FanDuel Sportsbook lists their Super Bowl LX odds at +18000, the third worst in the league.
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The 'NFL QBs with the most games started' quiz
There’s been a lot of attention on the Cleveland Browns and their quarterback situation this offseason, and even with Joe Flacco named the Week 1 starter, that shouldn’t change once the regular season gets underway. While the 40-year-old will start the campaign under center, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that he thinks the Browns will carry four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster. “They’re going to keep both rookies [Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders], so that leaves Kenny Pickett. And I expect he makes the roster,” Schefter said on "NFL Live." Flacco started five games for the Browns in an emergency capacity in 2023, shocking the NFL by going 4-1 and getting Cleveland into the playoffs. Which brings us to today’s quiz. Flacco has started 191 games for five different teams in his NFL career. With that being said, how many of the NFL quarterbacks to start at least 150 games in the Super Bowl era can you name in six minutes? Good luck! Did you like this quiz? Are there any quizzes you’d like to see us make in the future? Let us know your thoughts at quizzes@yardbarker.com, and make sure to subscribe to our Quiz of the Day Newsletter for daily quizzes sent right to your email!
Packers Veteran May Need Dominant Preseason Finale Just to Make the Roster
The Packers have built a young and ascending receiving corps around Jordan Love, but one of this offseason’s additions may see his time in Green Bay cut short before he even plays a regular season game. Matthew Golden has a real chance of opening the season atop the depth chart, after being chosen in the first round of April’s NFL Draft, Savion Williams will have a role as a rookie, and the likes of Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks should all see meaningful snaps as Christian Watson works his way back from a torn ACL. Mecole Hardman on Packers’ Bubble? Meanwhile, it might take a dominant performance from veteran free agent signing Mecole Hardman in the preseason finale against the Seahawks just to make the team. “Hardman signed with the Packers when they had real questions about where speed would come from at the receiver position following Watson’s injury,” Justis Mosqueda writes for SBNation. “Since then, Green Bay has added Matthew Golden (4.29-second 40-yard dash) and Savion Williams (4.48-second 40-yard dash) as top-100 picks in April’s draft. Based on how the offense has deployed Hardman with the first- and second-team units this summer, the offense’s plan for Hardman seems to be to use him as a reserve slot receiver, a role that Jayden Reed starts at and Golden, Dontayvion Wicks and Heath all receive snaps at.” The Packers receiving corps has the chance to stretch the field with Golden and produce some big plays after the catch with Reed, Wicks, and tight end Tucker Kraft. It may be difficult for Hardman to have a role, or even a spot on the roster.
MLB sends message by suspending Victor Robles for bat-throwing incident
Major League Baseball announced that Mariners outfielder Víctor Robles has received a 10-game suspension and an undisclosed fine from the league. The suspension will begin as soon as Robles is reinstated from the injured list, though Robles has filed an appeal and the suspension is being held in abeyance until the appeals process is complete. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported these details prior to the official announcement. Divish notes that the M’s would have to play a man short during the suspension. Robles has been on the injured list for most of the year. Back in early April, he made a sensational catch in San Francisco but crashed into the sideline netting and dislocated his left shoulder, causing a small fracture in the humeral head of said shoulder. A week ago, he was finally able to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma. During that week, he was hit by pitches multiple times, as shown in this video breakdown from Jomboy Media. Although he was hit five times, only three of them were technically counted as hit-by-pitches, with the other two counting as swings. Regardless, the final incident saw Robles hit by Joey Estes of the Las Vegas Aviators. Of the five times Robles was hit, three of them were out of the hand of Estes, though the final two were counted as swinging strikes. Regardless of how it was scored, Robles was clearly upset and threw his bat toward the pitcher’s mound. It doesn’t appear as though it hit Estes or anyone else, but MLB is understandably taking a firm stance against a player using his bat in this dangerous manner and sending Robles a message. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto spoke to members of the media, including Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, noting that the club tentatively planned to reinstate Robles from the IL next week but those plans may change with the suspension. Divish suggests that perhaps the best plan is to reinstate Robles on Sept. 1, so that the M’s can at least play with a 27-man roster, though that would push his reinstatement into the middle of September. Reinstating him earlier would mean playing with a 25-man roster for a while, though that would also mean Robles would be able to be reinstated for more games. It’s also unclear how long the appeals process will take. Sometimes, players appealing a suspension will hang in limbo until their team goes to New York, where the MLB head offices are located. The M’s don’t play in New York again this year, so it’s not clear when the appeal would be scheduled for. Robles being in the minors could also complicate factors. The M’s would surely love for the appeal to drag out into the winter and for Robles to serve his suspension next year, since they are currently in a playoff race, though MLB presumably wouldn’t let it play out like that.
Pirates' top pitching prospect to make long-awaited MLB debut
The Pittsburgh Pirates are promoting top pitching prospect Bubba Chandler to the major leagues, according to a report from Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Alex Stumpf of MLB.com adds that Chandler’s contract will be selected to the roster on Friday, while Hiles notes that Chandler will pitch in a long relief role. It’s a long-awaited promotion for Chandler, who entered the season viewed as a consensus top-20 prospect in the sport and on the shortlist for the league’s very best pitching prospects. The 22-year-old hurler reached the Triple-A level last year and opened eyes with a brilliant 1.83 ERA in seven starts, where he struck out 34.0% of batters faced, and that led many to speculate upon whether or not Chandler would be brought up to the majors early in the 2025 campaign or perhaps even join the club’s Opening Day rotation. That’s not the route that Pittsburgh decided to take. Chandler has spent the entire 2025 campaign at Triple-A to this point and will now only get promoted to the majors for the final weeks of the season. The right-hander did everything he could to force the issue early in the season, with a sterling 2.03 ERA and a 35.0% strikeout rate in 11 starts through the end of May. His call to the majors never came, however, and Chandler began to struggle as the summer began. Since June began, Chandler has struggled to a 5.96 ERA due in part to vanishing command. He’s struck out just 22.1% of his opponents during that time while walking a hefty 13.1%. A .377 BABIP since the start of June is surely the culprit for at least some of those struggles, however, and it’s also possible that the challenge of a new level could help invigorate Chandler upon his arrival to the majors. After all, this is the same prospect who dominated Triple-A to the tune of a 1.94 ERA, 2.79 FIP, and 34.6% strikeout rate across his first 18 starts at the level. High as the right-hander’s upside clearly appears to be, however, his recent struggles can’t be ignored. Perhaps that’s why the Pirates will look to ease him into the majors with a bullpen role to start his big league career. It’s hardly an unprecedented path for even a potential star player to take. Chris Sale and, more recently, Garrett Crochet both spent years pitching out of the bullpen before moving into the rotation and becoming the ace-level arms we know today. That doesn’t appear to be the plan for Chandler, of course, as Stumpf writes that the Pirates view Chandler as a starter long-term, and he could get starts at the big league level later this year. Future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer served as a swing man for the Diamondbacks during his first year in the big leagues, while current rookies like Joey Cantillo, Brad Lord and Ryan Gusto have also broken into the majors by starting in a hybrid role between starting and relief work. That’s also true for a few of Chandler’s Pirates teammates, like Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows. Chandler’s impending ascension to the major leagues brings together Pittsburgh’s fleet of young starting pitchers. Led by likely NL Cy Young award winner Paul Skenes, the Pirates’ 2026 rotation figures to feature Ashcraft, Chandler, and Jared Jones as young, talented arms who have yet to reach arbitration. It’s a highly talented, exciting group of arms that should be a strong basis for a contending team, but if the 2025 season has been any indication the club will need to assemble a much better lineup than what they’ve put together this year if they hope to compete with the rest of the NL Central for a playoff spot. Oneil Cruz is a toolsy player with star upside, and perhaps Bryan Reynolds will rebound from his down season to put up the solidly above-average numbers fans in Pittsburgh have grown to expect from him. Outside of that duo, however, there isn’t much to get excited about. While top prospect Konnor Griffin turned heads in the lower minors earlier this year, he’s currently struggling badly at Double-A and isn’t especially likely to debut next year. Suppose the team is to compete next year. In that case, it will either need massive steps forward from under-performing young players like Spencer Horwitz, Henry Davis, and Nick Gonzales, or it’ll need to make meaningful external additions to the lineup via either trade or free agency. Strong performances from young arms like Chandler and Ashcraft down the stretch this year could go a long way to convincing Pittsburgh brass that now is the time to make a significant investment in short-term competitiveness. For now, however, the focus will be on getting Chandler acclimated to the majors in his first few weeks as a big league player. The Pirates have space on their 40-man roster already, so they’ll only need to make an active roster move to bring Chandler into the fold later this week.
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