For a player with the experience of Myles Garrett, attending offseason workouts is not mandatory. However, with a $1 million bonus on the line, most veteran players would think twice about skipping them.

Nevertheless, Garrett has decided to forfeit the bonus and not attend the workouts, per NBC Sports. This has ignited rumors about a potential trade, although several reports have said he is “100%” staying in Cleveland.

Myles Garrett trade rumors: Is the pass rusher leaving the Browns?

A year ago, Myles Garrett signed a lucrative four-year, $160 million extension with the Browns. At the time, it seemed like his primary focus was financial security, but the situation appears to have changed.

Garrett once stated that his goal was to compete for a Super Bowl, and the Browns are currently far from being considered contenders. By forfeiting such a significant bonus, he may now be signaling that a trade is the best path for him to pursue a championship ring.

If Garrett requests a trade, he will undoubtedly have several teams interested in his services. However, the substantial contract he carries may be an issue, meaning a renegotiation might be the only way for him to leave Cleveland. As of today, he remains with the team, but whether this is the best move for his career remains to be seen.

“If we wanted to trade Myles, we wouldn’t have needed to make a contract adjustment,” Browns GM Andrew Berry said about the trade rumors, via ESPN. “So it doesn’t have anything to do with that.“

A report from USA Today’s Giants Wire had named New York as a potential landing spot for Garrett. If Berry was completely honest in his statement, that may no longer be an option as Garrett would be staying in The Land, rather than leaving for The City—or anywhere else in the NFL for that matter.

What it means for the NY Giants

In the NFL, there’s always room to grow. For a team like the Giants, that has missed the playoffs in 8 of their last 10 seasons, that’s definitely the case. However, if there’s one area of the field the G-Men may be set at, it’s the defensive line.

Adding Garrett to the star-studded pass-rushing and run-stopping crew would be huge, but it may also be an unnecessary investment—especially considering there are several areas that need addressing, and the D-line isn’t one of them. The Giants should be fine with what they already have in place in East Rutherford.

NY Giants’ depth on D-line

With or without Garrett, New York already boasts one of the top defensive lines in the NFL. With the likes of Dexter Lawrence and Roy Robertson-Harris at the nose position, and Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Brian Burns rushing off the edge, Big Blue features a virtually impossible-to-contain pass rush when fully healthy.

If the Giants wanted to keep adding to their collection of elite pass rushers, they could try their luck and hope one of the top prospects—Rueben Bain Jr., Arvell Reese, or David Bailey—lands in their lap.

NY Giants face big Draft Day decision

Again, it might be an unnecessary investment, but it’d be a much cheaper option than trading for Garrett. The latter, however, removes any suspense, concern, or fear about his production. New York would know what it’d be paying for, which simply isn’t the case with rookies out of college.

Regardless, it seems the Giants will go a different route with their first-round pick (No. 5 overall). Reports suggest the G-Men are after running back Jeremiyah Love, or possibly a defensive player—but not an EDGE or defensive end.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the Browns are “100%, definitely not trading” Myles Garrett. The All-Pro EDGE, who just broke the single-season sack record in the NFL, recently had the Browns modify his contract to help the team’s cap flexibility.

Garrett will once again lead a top defensive unit in the 2026 NFL season. However, the Browns will have a new defensive coordinator. Without Jim Schwartz, the defense might take a big hit, as he was one of the best DCs in football.

Garrett in 2025 was unstoppable

Last season, Garrett was a man on a mission to not only become the Defensive Player of the Year, but to get the sacks record. Not only did he accomplish both by having 23 sacks, but Garrett became the biggest nightmare for offensive linemen.

Garrett is just stronger, taller, faster, and more explosive than any offensive lineman in the NFL. It’s impossible to stop him one on one. Sometimes, it’s almost impossible doing it two on one as well.

The Browns lost Schwartz but kept the talent

Joining Garrett, the Brown have the Defensive Rookie of the Year in Carson Schwesinger and Quincy Williams as the linebackers, which is a premium quality to have. This makes the front seven a very elite one.

On the secondary, Denzel Ward is an elite cornerback and Grant Delpit is an excellent, high-level safety as well. They’ve played together for a while as well. Hence, new DC Mike Rutenberg can’t complain for the talent at his disposal.

In the original terms of the four-year, $160 million extension Myles Garrett signed with the Browns in 2025, the player was due a $29.2 million bonus on March 25, 2026.

However, the club recently restructured the language of the deal, pushing that deadline to seven days before the regular season begins in September. While Garrett will still earn this bonus, the delay has significant implications for both the player and the franchise.

What does this mean for Myles Garrett and the Browns?

By delaying the exercise date, the Browns avoid a massive $30 million cash payout during the spring. This provides the team with several months of additional liquidity to evaluate their roster and salary cap health before officially committing that capital.

To compensate Garrett for the delay, the team converted $8 million of his base salary in 2029 and 2030 into early-season roster bonuses. This adjustment ensures he receives a larger portion of his late-career earnings as a lump sum at the start of those league years, rather than in weekly game checks.

While this move creates a positive financial outlook for Garrett through 2029, it also serves as clear proof that he is willing to assist the front office in maintaining financial flexibility to build a more competitive roster.

There is an elephant in the room

Because the Browns moved the payment deadline to September, speculation has intensified regarding a potential trade. The logic is simple: financial leverage.

If a team trades for the All-Pro pass rusher before the new September deadline, the acquiring team—not the Browns—would be responsible for paying that $29.2 million bonus. While Garrett has publicly stated his desire to remain in Cleveland, this specific contract “tweak” makes him much easier to move and has understandably raised concerns among the fanbase.

Even so, uncertainty still lingers in the Dawg Pound about whether Sanders has what it takes to be the team’s QB1—especially after Kevin Stefanski’s departure to the Falcons.

Myles Garrett is undoubtedly an authoritative voice when it comes to everything happening with the Browns, and in a recent conversation on Micah Parsons’ podcast, he expressed strong support for the second-year quarterback in the league.

“That’s who we are looking at as the guy,” one of the most impactful linebackers in the league said of his teammate. “We are going to give him a shot to prove that he’s the guy.”

“(Shedeur) was the last person to be on the field, and he showed some flashes,” Myles Garrett also explained. “So we’re going to give him an opportunity to show what he can do.”

Will Shedeur Sanders lead the Browns as QB1?

The quarterback situation for the Cleveland Browns is heating up as the team enters the 2026 offseason with Todd Monken as the new head coach. While Shedeur Sanders finished the 2025 season as the starter with a 3-4 record, Monken has been noncommittal about naming a QB1, stating that the position is still “to be determined.”

This opens the door for a fierce training camp battle with Dillon Gabriel, who started six games last year. While Gabriel is viewed as a safer “game manager” who protects the football, Sanders offers higher explosive potential despite his 10 interceptions as a rookie.

With Monken’s history of developing dynamic passers, Sanders may have a slight schematic edge, but he will have to beat out both Gabriel and a potentially healthy Deshaun Watson to secure the job.

Late in the fourth quarter of the Browns vs. Bengals matchup, Myles Garrett was able to take down Joe Burrow, setting the single-season sack record with his 23rd quarterback takedown. While the achievement was historic, the way officials managed the situation caught Zac Taylor by surprise.

With 5:03 remaining in the game and the Bengals trailing 17-12, Garrett recorded his record-breaking sack. Following the play, referees stopped the game for an unusual 32 seconds, a delay that Taylor said was never communicated to him.

Zac Taylor slams NFL referees over bizarre clock stoppage after Garrett’s sack on Burrow

“I was never informed of that,“ Taylor said on referees stopping the clock after Myles Garrett secured the record. ”They didn’t say one word. We meet with them in the 90-minute meeting before the game. They never said one word about that.”

According to Taylor, officials typically inform both teams of any special circumstances that could lead to a stoppage, especially during potential record-breaking moments. In this case, he said that communication never happened.

Additionally, Taylor pointed out that while the referees stopped the game to allow Garrett to celebrate his milestone, the Bengals were not granted extra time to regroup and prepare for the next play. He argued that the situation lacked fairness and put his team at a disadvantage.

Are the Bengals going to fire Zac Taylor?

Following a disappointing 2025 NFL season, speculation has emerged about whether the Bengals will evaluate Zac Taylor’s future as head coach after not being able to achieve the success expected.

As of now, there is no clear indication that Cincinnati plans to move on from Taylor. However, depending on how the offseason unfolds, he could find himself on the hot seat heading into the 2026 campaign.

With Stefanski’s future up in the air, you’d think the stars would either back him up or stay distant. Garrett chose the intrigue. He was clear about what he wants, but didn’t precisely took a side. “I want things to be successful, however that looks.” But it didn’t end there.

Garrett also said there’s been “more downs than ups” in the Stefanski tenure. “I’m committed to winning,” Garrett added. “As long as the team and organization are doing so and committed to that same thing, I’m all on board. If we’re thinking anything other than winning — tanking or rebuilding — that’s not me.”

Stefanski has really big highs and very steep lows

Garrett has a point. There’s been more downs than ups. In six seasons, Stefanski has gone to the playoffs just twice. However, both times, he got Coach of the Year accolades. Still, that doesn’t erase the other four years of below .500 results. Stefanski’s record is 44-56 in 100 games played.

Now, to be fair with Stefanski, he has been dealt with tough hands across the years. In 2020 and 2021, he had Baker Mayfield. In 2022, it was Jacoby Brissett and then Deshaun Watson, who shared 2023 with Joe Flasso, PJ Walker, Dorian Thompson Robinson and Jeff Driskel. All starting at least one game. The 2024 NFL season saw Watson, DTR and then Jameis Winston and Bailey Zappe. This year, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders all played under center.

Garrett might be regretting his decision to stay

Myles Garret has always said he is focused on winning. Even requesting a trade from the team a while back because of the team’s situation. However, as they say ‘money talks‘ and that happened. Garrett ended up seeing the dollar signs and stayed with the Browns after signing a four-year, $160 million deal in March, 2025.

Less than a season later, he is already out of the playoffs and with little chances of success in the horizon. Hence, he might be regretting signing that deal, especially because he would’ve gotten the money elsewhere. Look at Micah Parsons for instance. Garrett is a sack away from the NFL record but it won’t matter as the team is fully eliminated from playoff contention.

Tomlin was brief and direct in his response. “We didn’t take a different approach,” he told reporters, making it clear the Steelers did not design a special strategy to stop Garrett, who finished the game with one tackle and a quarterback hit on Aaron Rodgers.

Garrett was disruptive throughout the game, not only against Rodgers but also against the Steelers’ offensive line. Still, Tomlin said the Browns star’s record was not a factor in the game plan. “We didn’t do anything against Myles that we don’t normally do against Myles. The sack record is irrelevant,” the coach said.

Tomlin says there was no different strategy against Garrett

The approach was the same as always, according to Tomlin, who explained that when facing the Browns, Garrett must be accounted for like any other time they play him. He also pointed out that Garrett did not record a sack in their previous matchup either.

“We gotta minimize him if we want to engineer a victory. We did the same thing last time we played them. I don’t think he had any sacks in that game, either. So we didn’t take a different approach because of the gravity of the record. It’s just standard business when you’re playing these guys and him.”

After the game against the Steelers, Garrett delivered a pointed message criticizing the strategy Pittsburgh used against him, blaming Tomlin for the Steelers’ loss to the Browns.

Garrett is on pace to break the single-season sacks record. He is four sacks away and there are five games to go. This puts him over Parsons in the Defensive Player of the Year odds. Parsons spoke about it.

“I think it’ll be a nice accolade if I’m able to achieve that once in my career, but for right now, I just been playing for respect,” Parsons said to Matt Schneidman of TheAthletic.com. “I think that’s kind of what’s making me go.” He also said Garrett is “his own different specimen, and he has his own team, and what they do and what they do is special.“

Garrett is entering historical levels of dominance

Myles Garrett is a four-time first-team All Pro, a one-time DPOY, and a six-time Pro Bowler. During his nine years in the NFL, he’s had double-digit sacks in every single season except for his rookie year.

He commands two or three men from the opposing team to try and control him and he still dominates the trenches. If he retired today, Myles Garrett is likely to go to the Hall of Fame. If he is able to break the sacks record, it’s just confirmation of how good he is despite playing with Shedeur Sanders in a dysfunctional franchise like the Browns.

Parsons could be the heir to Garrett’s throne

Garrett is 30-years old, while Parsons is just 26, entering his prime. Parsons has 65 sacks already in his career and his lowest number of sacks in a season is 12, a number he already overcame in 2025.

He is a four-time Pro Bowler and a two-time first team All Pro. When Garrett’s time passes, he is undoubtedly the guy who could become a Hall of Famer one day. For now, it’s all about respect, as Parsons said.

For Garrett to etch his name into NFL history as one of the best sack artists in a season, he needs to surpass the mark of 22.5 sacks. He is well within striking distance and has plenty of time, as the Browns still have six games remaining in the 2025 season.

In just the last two weeks, Garrett has tallied seven sacks (four against Baltimore and the three most recent ones against Las Vegas). His single-best game of the year so far was against the Patriots, where he recorded a total of five sacks against Drake Maye.

Who holds the single-season NFL sack record?

The current single-season sack record is shared by two players: Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt, both with 22.5 sacks. T.J. Watt was the most recent player to achieve the feat, doing so in the 2021 season, and he recently surpassed his brother J.J. Watt in career total sacks.

Garrett is currently slightly ahead of T.J. Watt in career total sacks and is ranked 24th on the all-time sack leaders list, which has been officially tracked since 1982, the top of that list is Bruce Smith with 200 sacks.

Garrett was dominant since college

It’s worth remembering that Garrett has been a dominant force since his time with the Aggies. He broke the freshman sack record of 5.5 in his first six games with the program, and he also broke the SEC’s freshman sack record with 8 total sacks.

“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. 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. 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.”

Just a month later, Garrett changed his mind and signed a historic four-year, $160 million contract extension to stay with the Cleveland Browns. Now, with the team headed for another failure, holding a 2-6 record and an ineffective offense, rumors about a possible trade have resurfaced before the deadline.

Can the Browns trade Myles Garrett?

Yes. The Cleveland Browns can trade Myles Garrett even though the player just signed a new contract with the team. What matters is that any move must happen before the NFL deadline, which is Tuesday, November 4.

In recent days, multiple rumors have indicated that the Eagles are interested in Garrett. It’s worth noting that before the start of the 2025 season, insider Jeremy Fowler had already listed Philadelphia as a possible destination.

However, according to a new report from Dianna Russini, general manager Andrew Berry has already made his final decision, and despite the defensive end being unhappy with the situation under Kevin Stefanski’s team, he will not be traded.

“Myles Garrett is not getting traded, I’m told. Teams have checked in, but as one high-ranking source texted: ‘He’s a Brown and will remain a Brown.’ The Eagles have inquired about two AFC East pass rushers: Miami’s Jaelan Phillips and New York’s Jermaine Johnson. Philadelphia remains interested in adding a pass rusher ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline.”