NFL insider gives big trade update on Browns' Myles Garrett after alarming Todd Monken comment

First-year Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken raised some eyebrows when he admitted earlier this week that he has not had any face-to-face interactions with star pass-rusher Myles Garrett since the Browns hired Monken this past winter. 

That comment understandably caused some fans to wonder if Garrett has a reason to believe he won't be playing for Monken later this year. During a Thursday appearance on Cleveland sports radio station 92.3 The Fan, ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler discussed the Garrett-related rumors that have hovered over the Browns since the 30-year-old first requested a trade in February 2025. 

Jeremy Fowler would be "shocked" if Browns made this Myles Garrett move

"I am operating as if that is put to bed and he is not traded," Fowler said about Garrett, per Heavy's Sean Deveney. "The Browns are a value-based team. So if they get great value for Myles Garrett, I could see it. But, I don’t know what (general manager) Andrew Berry has said publicly about whether he has closed the door or not, if it’s been said or whatever. I don’t know off hand, but I would be shocked if they traded him based on all the indications I have gotten."

Garrett signed a four-year, $160M extension to stay with the Browns last offseason. He then earned Defensive Player of the Year Award honors for the second time in his career after he set a new single-season sack record. 

That said, Garrett has been part of just one playoff win since the Browns made him the first overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Cleveland tied for fifth among the betting favorites at +1400 odds to finish the upcoming season with the fewest wins in the league. 

Thus, both Garrett and the Browns could feel that a divorce could ultimately benefit everybody involved as it pertains to their long-term goals. 

Browns still "all-in" on keeping Myles Garrett? 

"They’re still all-in on him," Fowler added about the Browns and Garrett. "He is the best player in the league, probably at any position right now. They know that. Unless there is some sort of silent protest he is going through right now (during voluntary workouts), but he is 14 months removed from a mega-deal, I would be very surprised." 

Eventually, Garrett will speak publicly with reporters about his whereabouts during voluntary workouts. However, this situation could become much more interesting if he doesn't report for the start of Cleveland's mandatory minicamp on June 9.