As bad as things have been for the Cleveland Browns over the past few years, the biggest silver lining is that big No. 95 is still wreaking havoc on defense for them. Fans can rest easy knowing that he isn’t going anywhere after signing a big extension last offseason, even though some recent trade rumors ran a bit more wild than they should have.
Coming off a 23-sack season that still didn’t help the Browns win more than five games, the same concerns popped up again this offseason about what Garrett is still doing in Cleveland. Add Chad Johnson to the list of names in the media who are wondering that same thing.
During a recent episode of Nightcap, Johnson and Shannon Sharpe discussed Garrett’s presence on the team and revisited that burning question. Johnson brought up the fact that Garrett once again skipped Cleveland’s voluntary offseason program and then questioned why the Browns aren’t giving him a chance to win elsewhere.
“Why not give him the opportunity to go somewhere else and give him a chance to win? You’re losing with probably the greatest defensive end that is playing in today’s game, why not give him an opportunity to do that? Maybe I’m tripping, but to not show up to OTAs, the message has always been clear. He doesn’t have to come out and say it. Your actions show, ‘enough is enough,'” said Johnson.
The simple answer to this question is that if Garrett wanted to be somewhere else, he could have easily requested a trade at some point this offseason and the Browns would most likely have accommodated him.
The fact is that Garrett wants to be in Cleveland, which is why he signed an extension after requesting a trade last offseason. There would be no better time for him to request a trade than coming off a massive extension, an NFL-record 23-sack season, and another disappointing five-win campaign. If he isn’t demanding a trade now, it’s not going to happen, and a lot of people are sick of hearing about it.
Johnson is far from the first person to question Garrett skipping the offseason program, but he has done this every year because he prefers to train on his own. There are a lot of things Browns fans have to worry about in regards to the team, but Garrett’s presence and commitment to the organization is not one of them.
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