Myles Garrett frustrated after Browns waste five-sack game — but don’t expect a trade

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: The Browns wasted a Myles Garrett masterpiece Sunday.

Cleveland’s superstar edge rusher recorded a franchise-record five sacks (as well as one forced fumble), wreaking havoc on Drake Maye and the Patriots all game long. He beat double teams. He made a mockery of one-on-one scenarios. He won from the left side and the right. He chased down Maye, an outstanding athlete, on multiple occasions.

It didn’t matter much. The Browns lost 32-13 to fall to 2-6, even with Garrett recording just the 20th five-sack game in NFL history. Entering Sunday, players with a five-sack game had a 16-3 record. None of the three players who lost had lost by more than three points. The Browns lost by 19.

So even though Garrett’s highlights are absurd, the clip that’s gained the most attention is this one of him slamming his helmet late in the defeat.

He sat by himself at the end of the bench as the clock wound down, and afterwards, he was matter-of-fact about his frustration.

“It doesn’t get any easier each week you ask me,” Garrett said regarding the team’s inability to create an offense conducive to winning football games.

“I would throw the whole performance away for a win,” he said about his own accomplishments.

The Browns are 55-84-1 since Garrett arrived as the top pick in 2017, the seventh-worst mark in the NFL over that span, and have made the postseason just twice. The team has churned through 15 starting quarterbacks over that span, though it doesn’t appear that No. 16 is on the way after head coach Kevin Stefanski said he’ll stick with struggling rookie Dillon Gabriel after the bye.

That frustration played a part in Garrett requesting a trade in early February. By the end of the month, reports emerged that he was unwilling to sign a contract extension with the franchise. In early March, reports emerged that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam wouldn’t meet with Garrett, who was considering sitting out games.

But two days after that report, Garrett signed a four-year, $160 million extension with Cleveland. At $40 million per year, it made Garrett the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history at the time. Later in the offseason, another pass rusher, Micah Parsons, took that throne. Notably, though, that payday came after the Cowboys granted his trade request, shipping him to the Packers in a stunning blockbuster deal.

Sunday’s outburst and comments show Garrett’s frustration has boiled over again. With the trade deadline nearing, it’s only natural to wonder if Garrett, tied for the NFL lead with 10.0 sacks, could be on the move. A deeper examination, though, shows it won’t happen.

Garrett’s frustration with Browns

“As a kid dreaming of the NFL, all I focused on was the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl — and that goal fuels me today more than ever,” Garrett said in a Feb. 3 statement when he requested his trade from the Browns. “My love for the community of Northeast Ohio and the incredible fanbase of the Cleveland Browns has made this one of the toughest decisions of my life. These past eight years have shaped me into the man that I am today.

“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.”

That second-to-last sentence seemed especially pertinent — and a bit of a shot. Garrett’s trade request came roughly a week after general manager Andrew Berry said he had no intentions of trading Garrett and “we envision him going from Cleveland to Canton when his career is over.”

Canton, of course, is where the Pro Football Hall of Fame resides. Garrett is undoubtedly on that path. He’s a six-time All-Pro (four-time first-team selection) and six-time Pro Bowler. He won the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year, between finishing in the award’s top five in 2022 and 2024. He’s tied for the NFL lead with 10.0 sacks this season and, at 29 years old, has shown no signs of slowing down.

As has been the case throughout much of his career, the Browns are struggling. After losing to the Bengals 17-16 in Week 1 — kicker Andre Szmyt missed an extra point and a short field goal — Cleveland got blown out by Baltimore 47-10, and Garrett couldn’t hide his frustration.

“I mean, this shit is embarrassing,” Garrett said after the Browns allowed 31 second-half points. “We got to be better on defense. We got to be better as a team. They slowly chipped away and we did a solid job, holding them to three when we could, and then eventually the dam broke and they just did whatever they wanted, and we have to continue to play a 60-minute game.”

Could the Browns actually trade him?

The short answer is technically “yes.” There is no rule that’s stopping them. But let’s make this clear: The Browns won’t trade Garrett this season.

There are several issues at play. First, there’s the financial aspect. Trading Garrett would trigger a dead cap hit of nearly $68 million for the 2026 season. For reference, the largest single-season dead money hit in NFL history is Russell Wilson’s $53 million, stemming from the Broncos cutting ties with him in 2024.

Then there’s the return.

“That’s probably more of an offseason consideration when Cleveland could maximize draft choice compensation,” said Joel Corry, a former NFL agent and current CBS Sports analyst, via text last month. “I’m assuming Myles Garrett would be more likely to waive his no trade clause for an expected playoff contender.

“He is making $31.5M in 2026. The trade would have to be within the first 15 days of the 2026 league year because that’s when a $29.2 million payment is due to exercise a dummy (voiding) 2031 contract year.”

That is the biggest difference between the Parsons trade and any potential Garrett move. Garrett has already been paid. Parsons hadn’t been.

It’s easy to see why Garrett is frustrated. No one likes losing. No one likes seeing historic performances go to waste. But Garrett knew a season like this was a likely reality when he signed his then-record-breaking deal. He will have to stick out another lost season in Cleveland.