It is no secret that star player Myles Garrett has been unhappy with the Browns. During pre-season, he addressed an open letter to his team and fans, confessing he wants to be traded.

He shared his goal is to play for the Super Bowl, and given the state the Browns were in, it seemed impossible with them.

In a media session on Monday, Browns general manager Andrew Berry spoke about letting go of the former head coach and many upcoming tasks to rebuild the team from within.

While it is up to Berry and the management to make some changes, he deflected a question on what their approach to Garrett’s trade demands would be.

“Many of the trades that we’ve made are really about maybe players who won’t be a part of the future core, and getting future value for when we’re in our prime window with this roster,” he told Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot.

Berry further elaborated that he has good communication with Garrett, “rebuilding” doesn’t always mean breakdowns or omission. 

“Myles and I have good and frequent dialogue. I think when people hear the term rebuild, and probably specifically here, really their thought is teardown, right? When we think about where we are in our transition, it really is about building up the offense,” he explained. 

Garrett is More Important Than Ever

In Week 18, Myles Garrett clinched history and surpassed the NFL record for most sacks by a player in a season. The stakes were high, and Garrett had been the only consolation for the fans and team in these miserable past two seasons. 

The Browns cannot offer him much if he demands to be traded again, especially the glory he’s after and not money. Any team would take Garrett, the best defensive player in the league, which would be a huge problem for Jimmy Haslam.

Berry shared that he’s looking to strengthen the offense, which has been criticized by everyone, from former players to NFL experts. If the Browns lose Garrett, they will lose their defensive strength, rendering them utterly weak. 

He also shared that if such a decision is made, it will be strategic and only if it benefits in the long run.

“If we do trade a productive veteran in his prime, it’s probably more in lines of what we did with Greg Newsome, where we were able to acquire Tyson Campbell, a player that we thought was an excellent scheme fit, he’s in his prime and under contract for three years,” he said. 

“It would be more of a strategic decision like that.”

The ownership and management have made some major promises to the fans. Haslam and Berry need to act on their words as soon as possible if they want to keep their star defensive end.

Written by

Akanksha Biradar

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu