The Cleveland Browns have spent years trying to build a contender around one of the most dominant defensive players the NFL has ever seen. Yet as this season winds down, the same uncomfortable question keeps resurfacing. Are the Browns wasting the prime of Myles Garrett?
It is a difficult conversation for fans to have because Garrett is undoubtedly the best defensive player in all of football.
That conversation was pushed further by Garrett Podell of CBS Sports, who included Garrett in a list of players who could benefit from a change of scenery.
In his analysis, Benjamin pointed to both Garrett’s historic production and the Browns’ ongoing instability at quarterback as reasons a trade could make sense.
“Perennial All-Pro Myles Garrett is on his way to winning his second NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in his star-studded career in 2025,” Benjamin wrote. “His 22.0 sacks through 15 games are just half a sack behind the NFL’s single-season record and one away from breaking the all-time single-season record. Garrett will turn 30 years old on Dec. 29, and it’s a shame his generational talent is wasting away for a Cleveland franchise that is still struggling to find a long-term solution at quarterback. He would strongly benefit from a transfer to a regular playoff contender if given the opportunity,” Podell wrote.
The frustration is real among Browns fans, but the suggestion is wrong.
You do not trade generational players because the rest of the roster is flawed. You build until the roster catches up to them. Garrett is not just another Pro Bowl-caliber defender. He is the identity of the Browns’ defense. He changes games. He changes protections. He changes how opponents prepare all week. Those players do not come around often, and when you have one, you do everything possible to keep him.
Draft picks do not replace Myles Garrett. Cap space does not replace Myles Garrett. Hope does not replace Myles Garrett.
The Browns’ real failure has not been holding onto elite talent. It has been failing to capitalize on it. Quarterback instability, poor coaching, and poor roster management have wasted opportunities, not Garrett’s presence. Trading him would be an admission that the organization is willing to start over again instead of fixing what is broken around its best player.
Garrett has never been the problem. He has shown up, produced, and led through many years of dysfunction. Rewarding that with a trade because the team failed elsewhere sends the wrong message to the locker room and the fan base.
If the Browns want to maximize Garrett’s prime, the answer is not moving him. The answer is finally building a team worthy of him.
I will say this again, just like I’ve said in the past, you do not trade generational talent.
You build around it.
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