Browns legend offers guidance to Myles Garrett after trade request

Cleveland Browns legend Joe Thomas never played in a single playoff game during his Hall of Fame career, so he knows what Myles Garrett is thinking after the star pass-rusher made it clear he wants to be traded this offseason to pursue a Super Bowl ring. 

Nevertheless, Thomas thinks Garrett should reconsider his future and remember what he could offer a franchise that has never claimed a championship during the NFL's Super Bowl era. 

"I would probably share my experience and how I’m so proud that I was able to go into the Hall of Fame after only playing for the Cleveland Browns, and to be forever tied with the city of Cleveland, Northeast Ohio, the Cleveland Browns, that’s special to me," Thomas said during a recent chat with Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer about advice he'd give Garrett. "That’s something that I’m very proud of, and I never would want to give up." 

Garrett entered the league in the 2017 draft and has played only for the Browns. He's a one-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award winner who is well on his way to being enshrined in Canton, but he has participated in only one career playoff win. 

Over the years, Thomas has repeatedly insisted that he never considered accepting a trade because he felt he had "unfinished business" playing for a club that routinely missed the playoffs. He suggested Garrett could one day have regrets if the 29-year-old forces his way out of Cleveland before the 2025 season. 

"My concern is that 10-15 years from retirement he’ll wish he would’ve stayed in Cleveland because your career is about relationships and memories that you make," Thomas said about Garrett. "...You have to go through that drudgery and misery together to build that bond like a band of brothers. You have to have that shared sacrifice and shared suffering, and it’s hard to get that if you just show up on a team towards the end of your career and they’re really good and you win a bunch of games, and you’re happy. I think there’s always a little hollow feeling down the line."

While Thomas admitted he believes Garrett is "really firmly committed to being traded somewhere else," Cabot is among those who think Cleveland could keep the four-time All-Pro selection, who is under contract through the 2026 season, by signing him to a deal that would make him the league's highest-paid defensive player. Thomas seems to agree with analysts who have said Garrett left little doubt about his intentions during his numerous Super Bowl week media appearances. 

"He’s done in Cleveland," Thomas added about Garrett. "As much as that hurts...we need to accept it."