How Browns owner challenged Myles Garrett after signing of massive contract extension

Cleveland Browns star pass-rusher Myles Garrett rescinded his trade request and signed a massive four-year, $160M extension that included $123.5M guaranteed in March to stay with the franchise. 

Shortly after that, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic revealed that Garrett has been "frequently late to the facility" and has "skipped mandatory team activities on multiple occasions" during his Cleveland tenure. 

While speaking with a small group of Browns beat writers during the NFL owners meetings this week, team owner Jimmy Haslam made it clear he now expects more from Garrett than just quarterback sacks on Sundays. 

"What we’ve challenged Myles on is, by his practice habits, by his actions, etc., to become a real leader of the team," Haslam said, as shared by Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "And he has said he’d do that, and we’re hopeful that he will be."

Garrett's alleged lack of leadership qualities hovered over his reputation until he earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award honors for the 2023 season. In the summer of 2023, one former teammate noted that he felt Garrett needed to "lead more by example as far as in the classroom" and "command" the respect of others in the locker room. 

Haslam said during his comments that Garrett "is by nature an introvert" and is "not an extroverted rah-rah guy." That's all well and good, but it doesn't explain why, per Lloyd, the 29-year-old previously violated team rules and failed to help establish a "culture of accountability" behind the scenes. 

Whatever Garrett has and/or hasn't done since the Browns made him the first overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, none of it was bad enough to cause Haslam to consider trading the team's best overall player this offseason. 

"We had a lot of conversations about it, and there was never serious thought to trade Myles," Haslam added. "What we know we have in Myles is a Hall of Famer. ...These kind of situations are emotional. People say things, and you have to realize it’s not just the player. There’s an agent, there’s an agency who are working that process behind the scenes, and they’re really good at it. They’re really effective at it. And we’re just glad it worked out."

During his February media tour, Garrett publicly said that discussions with Browns management left him convinced he needed to be traded to an advertised contender if he was serious about claiming a Super Bowl ring while in his prime. 

One wonders how Garrett will feel if the Browns enter Week 1 of the 2025 season with former Pittsburgh Steelers flop Kenny Pickett as their starting quarterback.