Myles Garrett hits back at narrative about staying with Browns ahead of historic season

Roughly 11 months before Cleveland Browns star pass-rusher Myles Garrett set a new official single-season record of 23 sacks this past January, he went public with a trade request amid his desire to join a championship contender. 

After Garrett agreed to a massive four-year, $160M contract extension that included $123.5M guaranteed to stay with the Browns, the perception existed that he cared more about making money than about his football legacy. 

For a lengthy piece produced by Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated that went public on Thursday, Garrett addressed putting pen to paper on his deal last offseason. 

Myles Garrett still hoping to win with Browns

"I feel like I got what I earned, and that was the market I had set from the level of consistency I had displayed," Garrett explained. "I wasn’t trying to hit them over the head. And I wanted something that would still structure in a way in which we could bring in talent and try to win."

Garrett hasn't been part of many meaningful wins since the Browns made him the first overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. In fact, he has just one postseason victory on his career resume. Most recently, the 2025 Browns went 5-12 before the franchise fired head coach Kevin Stefanski. 

Myles Garrett did the Browns a solid after requesting a trade?

According to Bishop, Garrett accepted "less money" to stay with the Browns than what he could have received had he forced his way out of Cleveland. 

"If I would have left, they would have said I was ring chasing," Garrett added. "If I stay, they say I stayed for the money." 

Recent whispers have hinted that Garrett may not stay with the Browns for too much longer after popular defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz resigned in response to Todd Monken receiving the head-coaching job. Garrett is still in his physical prime at the age of 30, and Bishop mentioned in his piece that the future Hall of Famer is still "committed to winning."