Multiple media members have assumed the Cleveland Browns and star pass-rusher Myles Garrett agreed to change when option bonuses attached to his contract would be due, so that it would be easier for the Browns to trade him as soon as this offseason.
During a Thursday afternoon appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter revealed that teams around the league were also thinking that the Browns could be shopping Garrett. Schefter then called somebody within the Browns to get the organization’s spin on the move.
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“I called the Browns,” Schefter explained. “I’m like, ‘What’s going on here?’ And they’re like, ‘We are 100 percent definitely not trading him.'”
Schefter added that the Browns were “adamant” that Garrett is not actively being shopped and that the contract move was instead done to give the club more salary-cap flexibility.
Garrett signed a four-year, $160M contract extension that included $123.5M guaranteed to stay with the Browns last offseason after he had gone public with a trade request due to his desire to play for a contender. While he became a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award winner after he set a new official single-season record of 23 sacks, the Browns finished the 2025 campaign with a record of 5-12. The Browns also don’t have a proven franchise quarterback on their roster.
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“The option bonuses were moved every year in the contract,” Schefter added about the Garrett situation during the segment. “So, it wasn’t just this year. Could there be a point in two or three years when it’s easier to trade him? Yes, absolutely. But the Browns say, ‘We’re not trading him.'”
Earlier in the day, Browns insider Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand reminded outsiders that what people within the organization say isn’t as important as “what they do.” While Schefter insisted that the Browns “couldn’t have been stronger about” the fact that they allegedly aren’t trading Garrett, stories linking him with clubs such as the Dallas Cowboys will seemingly continue to pop up ahead of the upcoming draft.
