Myles Garrett was drafted No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2017 NFL Draft, and the team immediately proceeded to cobble together just the second 0-16 season in NFL history. He should have known he was going to be in for a rough career in Northeastern Ohio. Unfortunately, it took him eight years to realize it, as he officially requested a trade on Monday. Of course, that kicked off another edition of the blame game, and Stephen A. Smith is pretty sure he’s identified the main culprit.
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The Browns have had a rough go of it as a franchise since returning to the NFL fold in 1999. Though there was some positivity in the late 2010s and early 2020s, with Baker Mayfield leading them to a playoff win flanked by a couple of star receivers. However, Mayfield was soon shipped off in a shortsighted move. According to Stephen A., Baker’s replacement, Deshaun Watson, ended up being the straw that broke Garrett’s back in Cleveland.
“The person that I blame the most… is Deshaun Watson. Had Deshaun Watson gotten to Cleveland and balled the way he showcased how he could ball when he was a Houston Texan, Myles Garrett would not be asking for this trade. He’s asking for this trade because he knows Cleveland’s struggles to find a quarterback,” Stephen A. said.
“There doesn’t seem to be any relief or any help in sight, and he wants to be in a winning situation… This ain’t about anything more so than the fact that you’ve gotten suspect production from the quarterback position, and he knows the chances of winning are slim to none,” he added.
Stephen A. Smith blames Deshaun Watson for Myles Garrett requesting a trade from the #Browns:
"The person that I blame the most…is Deshaun Watson. Had Deshaun Watson gotten to Cleveland and balled the way he showcased how he could ball when he was a Houston Texan, Myles… pic.twitter.com/MkIEzdaBoY
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 3, 2025
Watson has started just 19 games and missed 32 since making his debut with the Browns in 2022, and the numbers paint a ghastly picture. Out of 44 QBs with 500+ pass attempts from 2022 to 2024, Watson ranks:
- 33rd, with 19 starts
- T-29th, with 9 wins
- 41st, with 341 completions
- 40th, with a 60.2 completion percentage
- 37th, with 177.1 pass yards per game
- T-37th, with 19 TD passes
- T-30th, with a 3.4 TD rate
- T-25th, with a 2.2 INT rate
- 38th, with a 80.7 passer rating
- 43rd, with 6.0 yards/attempt
- 42nd, with a 37.3 success rate
- Last, with 1 4th-quarter comeback
- Last, with 1 game-winning drive
That’s pretty bleak. However, apart from those two exciting Mayfield years, the Browns were pretty awful under center prior to Watson’s arrival anyway.
Since Garrett was selected in 2017, the Browns are t-25th with 53 regular season wins, 26th with a -463 point differential, t-19th with one playoff win, and t-22nd with three playoff games over that span. As Stephen A. pointed out, those struggles extend right to the start of the 21st century for this Browns franchise.
“I’m not surprised and I completely support Myles Garrett. The Browns organization, they’ve been to the playoffs two times in the last five years, that’s the good news, and that’s really not that good. The real bad news is that they’ve been to the playoffs twice in the last 22-23 years. This is a team that has not gotten it done.”
While most will feel for Garrett considering the situation he finds himself in, it doesn’t seem likely that he’s going to get his way. General manager Andrew Berry has been adamant that he does not want to trade his franchise player on the defensive side. Not to mention the financial constraints that a potential trade would create for Cleveland and their trade partners.
Trading DE Myles Garrett
New Team Acquires
2025: $19.8M (non-gtd)
2026: $25M (non-gtd)#Browns Dead Cap
$36,216,580The 29-year-old will be seeking a deal, currently projecting toward a 4 year, $137M contract in our system.
— Spotrac (@spotrac) February 3, 2025
Garrett’s massive salary expectations do not exactly align with his apparent goal of winning a Super Bowl. There aren’t many top teams paying defenders $35+ million a year. What Myles Garrett and the Browns would need is a team with Super Bowl aspirations as well as deep pockets over the next couple of years. There aren’t many of those, but there are a few.
Both the Los Angeles Chargers and the Washington Commanders are set to be in the top 11 in salary cap space in each of the next three years, per OverTheCap. They were also both playoff teams in 2024 that offered strong play at the QB position and excellent coaching. Together, that suggests they will be contending for the next few years and could be potential trade partners for Garrett.
