The Cleveland Browns had to spend big bucks to keep their best player around.
They gave Myles Garrett a record-breaking four-year deal worth $160 million, with $123 million guaranteed to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
That was always the expectation, and while that’s a lot of money, it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t earned every single penny of that deal.
Notably, that’s also why it’s not a surprise to see that Ryan Smith of Pro Football Focus has him as the highest-ranked pass rusher in the entire league:
“Garrett finished as the NFL’s top pass-rusher for the third consecutive season, leading the league in PFF pass-rush grade (92.8), total pressures (83), pass-rush win rate (23.1%) and pressure rate (18.1%),” Smith wrote. “The future Hall of Famer also became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 100 career sacks and remains the only player to record 14 or more sacks in four straight seasons.”
Garrett is a dominant force off of the line of scrimmage.
Opposing teams must have a plan to neutralize him, and even then, they often fail.
He also has to deal with double teams and uncalled penalties on almost every snap, which is why, oftentimes, his numbers aren’t as impressive as, say, T.J. Watt’s.
Even so, there was also a strong case to be made to trade him.
That may have been the Browns’ quicker and smoother path towards a proper rebuild.
Even if they had to deal with a big cap hit, they could’ve landed some elite value in return.
Garrett rubbed some people the wrong way because of how he dealt with his trade request.
He argued that it wasn’t about money, and then he signed for more money.
But at the end of the day, the team will always be better and have a better chance to compete at a high level when he’s out there.
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