CLEVELAND — Myles Garrett shouted and slammed his helmet down, his frustration palpable. The NFL's top pass rusher sat alone on the edge of the bench with the clock winding down, moments before the Browns took their sixth loss of the season Week 8 against the Patriots. Garrett had just put together a career-best five-sack game that had ended in a 32-13 defeat. It was an emotional reaction, captured on camera, destined to be shared on social media and scrutinized by any and all.
The way that game, and Garrett’s actions all year, have been perceived make it clear how many people don’t know Myles Garrett.
To know Garrett, or just to hear him speak, brings an awareness that his personal production in the game didn’t mean a thing when the clock hit zero. But there seems to be a widespread misunderstanding of Garrett this season.
Standing at a podium after the game against the Patriots, Garrett was asked about those final moments. His displeasure didn’t have to be assumed or insinuated. He said exactly how he was feeling and why.
“I'm frustrated. I want to win. I don't care how much time is on the clock. They got their starters in. There's a chance we can win. I want to be a part of that. I don't care how dire the situation looks. I want to try to make something happen. So, I hate coming out of those situations. I hate that kind of inevitability and not being able to do anything about it because I want to win,” he said.
That postgame press conference wasn’t the first time Garrett had spoken out about his discontent with the team’s production this season. Through the first nine games of the year, the Browns own just two wins — their latest loss coming against the Jets in a game New York entered 1-7 after just trading away two of their star defensive players in a trade deadline fire sale.
While Garrett’s side of the ball has been among the best in the league, ranked No. 2 in total defense, the offense has not matched the production.
Now, along the way, Garrett has been outspoken, addressing the issues he’s seen — the same issues fans have seen — and pushing players and coaches for action.
Back in Week 6 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Browns wrapped up their 11th consecutive game, going back to the 2024 season, without scoring more than 20 points. The Browns lost, and Garrett took the podium, addressing the growing dissatisfaction that he was not alone in feeling.
“Yeah, it's frustrating. It’s frustrating to lose the same way every time. It's frustrating as hell,” Garrett said after the game, not mincing his words.
In a season filled with disappointment and failure — especially for a franchise that has experienced a surplus of those things over the past 30 years — one would think having a marquee player speak up and out about those things would be well received. Because who wants complacency in a losing season, right?
Well, apparently not to everyone.
Garrett’s outspoken nature has drawn criticism from pundits and talking heads, local and national. Some have taken exception to Garrett’s frustration, knocking his offseason contract extension as they do.
On a local sports radio show, one segment featured a rant that included, "I don't feel sorry for Myles Garrett, stop with this crap, he's not a leader."
Others took to social media and wrote things like:
“Hey he signed up for this. He trashed the organization and got his $40 million a year. Don’t feel sorry for him at all. Great player, Hall of Famer, but don’t feel sorry for him at all”
“He requested a trade and folded for the bag. Nobody feels bad.”
“Let’s not make this a “poor Myles Garrett, he’s wasting his talent in Cleveland”. That man had an out and was already one foot out and decided money was the best option. He of all people knew how ****** that organization is run and he said money makes it better. No sympathy”
Garrett indeed requested a trade in February, but when he did, the statement he provided pointed to his belief that the organization was not aligned with him in its desire not only to win, but also to compete for a Super Bowl.
“While I've loved calling this city my home, my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won't allow me to be complacent. The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton; it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl. With that in mind, I have requested to be traded from the Cleveland Browns,” Garrett’s statement said, in part.
To say that Garrett only returned for the money is not a fair assessment of what actually happened, and an understanding of both Garrett and the situation makes that idea all but a fallacy.
Garrett’s contract prior to the trade request and extension would have had the pass-rusher one more year under contract with Cleveland before becoming an unrestricted free agent, but even then, he was subject to being franchise tagged for the next three years to follow.
Most teams wouldn’t franchise tag a player three times, with the price point of doing so increasing substantially each time — but most teams don’t have a Myles Garrett. The Browns have been adamant about keeping Garrett in orange and brown for his entire career, so at least two franchise tags would have been a realistic possibility.
He wasn’t going anywhere.
When you talk about the money, if you believe in Garrett’s talents, it’s also a no-brainer.
Garrett is indisputably among the top players in the NFL at any position and is widely regarded as the best pass rusher in the league. It should come as no surprise that a player of his caliber would be paid as such. In a market that has shifted to protect players' livelihoods from injury, there was little question that his agent, Nicole Lynn, president of football operations at Klutch Sports Group, would push for her client to obtain a contract that reflects his value in the league while also increasing his guaranteed pay.
That’s what he got. And with the timing of the contract, it ultimately helped the Browns. Garrett's new contract continued shaping the market for pass rushers. Yes, he became the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL at the time, but it didn't last long. Since signing the contract extension, three other teams have inked their defensive stars to new deals influenced by Garrett's — the Steelers with TJ Watt, the Lions with Aidan Hutchinson, and the Packers with Micah Parsons, just after trading for him.
He may make money to play here, but Garrett also simply loves Cleveland. He says it at every turn. He shows it with community events and interactions with fans. From having 5,000 backpacks full of supplies distributed to Cleveland schools to hosting watch parties for local fans to see the newest Superman film in theaters before anyone else. Not to mention youth camp, meeting with fans at training camp and in the Muni Lot and everything in between.
To Garrett, this is home.
He also loves winning. He says it at every turn. He shows it with his actions. Just ask his defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz, who sees it firsthand.
“You want all your guys to be honest with their feelings and things like that, but you also want to frame it the right way, and I think Myles has been good that way … having frustration at the end of the game is not something that normally shows with him. So, he’s done a good job of being consistent and working. I don’t know if you guys noticed, but the week before that game, he took every single practice rep. Every single. And he had told [defensive line coach] Jacques [Cesaire], ‘Hey, I wasn’t happy with my performance the week before, you’re not taking me out of practice during this week.’ And I think that kind of statement speaks loud, too,” Schwartz said. “I think that sends a strong message.”
Garrett didn’t need to take every practice rep. He could have had his days of veteran rest. He has more than enough experience and understanding to take a few reps off. But the message he’s been sending all along — at the podium, on the practice fields, and in the game is the same.
“I always think actions speak louder than words. As much as I say I'm committed, and you can talk all day about that, but being out there every single rep and not taking one off, I don't think a lot of guys do. Showing them that even at this year of my career, at this stage of my career, I'm glad to do whatever it takes to get guys pointed in the same direction and then pull them along with me,” he said.
The Browns' pass rusher is not only on the fast track to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he’s all but assured a first-ballot induction at his point. He’s reached so many of his personal goals, from franchise and league records, to winning Defensive Player of the Year; nearly every milestone Garrett has set for himself, he has accomplished. He's just five sacks away from breaking the NFL's all-time regular-season sack record. He's been the youngest player to accomplish many of his feats. But the one goal he hasn’t met, and the one he can’t do by himself, is the reason he asked for a trade and the reason he continues to be vocal about the lack of success this season.
“I would trade all the [sacks] I had back against the Patriots to have a win. I don't want to say that to be ungrateful because I was blessed to get that many. But it's just not that deep to me,” Garrett said on Friday as the team wrapped preparation for the Week 11 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. “If some of my personal goals happen, that's great, but I want to go and continue to play after January. That's the biggest goal."
But even without words, Garrett is showing who he is on the field every single game. Amid the team's losing record, Garrett has fought. He followed his five sack game against New England with a four sack game against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. He just added three sacks against the Las Vegas Raiders, two of which were strip sacks. He has 26 tackles for loss. He's playing inside and out, excelling in the pass rush and the run stop, impacting the game, impacting his teammates. He's chasing a goal while showing the world who he is and what he wants the most.
Garrett wants to win a Super Bowl.
More than money. More than fame. It drives him more than anything else.
Once you realize who he is, you’ll realize he’s exactly the kind of player a team that has gone 5-24 over the last two seasons needs if they want everyone to buy into the idea of creating success amid struggles and adversity. If they want to continue the push to change the narrative about Cleveland’s culture. If they want to win, too.
Whether it’s enough to drive real change remains to be seen, but there should be no question that Garrett is showing he’s a voice, a leader, and a player driven to turn things around.
And if you don’t understand that about him, then you still don’t know Myles Garrett.
