Todd Monken seems to take veiled shot at Myles Garrett after trade

From the time that the Cleveland Browns hired Todd Monken as their new head coach this past winter, he seemingly had no face-to-face interactions with Myles Garrett before the Browns traded the star pass-rusher to the Los Angeles Rams for edge-rusher Jared Verse and draft picks. 

While speaking with reporters about Verse's arrival on Wednesday, Monken made an interesting comment that raised some eyebrows and may or may not have been a shot directed at Garrett. 

Todd Monken wants players who want to be with Browns

"He was jacked," Monken said about meeting Verse in person, per the Browns' website. "He was fired up. I mean, who doesn’t want to be wanted? We wanted him. That’s the way it is." 

Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin used to say he wanted "volunteers as opposed to hostages" on his roster. Garrett went public with a trade request last offseason, but he later inked a four-year, $160M contract extension to stay with Cleveland for what became his final season with the organization that made him the first overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. 

Garrett allegedly didn't request a trade this offseason, but the fact that he waived the no-trade clause attached to his contract says plenty about his desire to play for a different franchise.

"I thought it was settled," Monken said on Wednesday when asked about Garrett's position. "Not at any given point did I think we were going to trade Myles. That’s just the nature of what we do. I mean, this is pro sports, right?  You’re always trying to look to the present and then to the future. So, I was excited then, and I’m excited now." 

Todd Monken gives Jared Verse advice about "replacing" Myles Garrett

Verse seems to understand he isn't (yet) a like-for-like replacement for Garrett, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year who is still in his physical prime and who likely will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer years down the road. 

"Just be yourself," Monken said about his message to Verse. "There’s only one of you. Myles is already taken. And he’s an elite football player. We all know that. I mean, to say that – Jared, just be you. I mean, I see his track ascending, I just do. I just see a world of upside by the way he’s wired. We’re jacked to have him." 

Verse earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors for the 2024 season, and he tallied 12 sacks over the first 34 regular-season games of his pro career. He now will look to prove that the Browns made the right call in selling an all-time franchise great when Garrett's value was as high as it was going to get for the remainder of his career.