PHOENIX — The real Superman originated in Cleveland, and one that plays for the Browns isn’t going anywhere.
On Monday, owner Jimmy Haslam explained exactly why the Browns won’t trade Myles Garrett, even after team-friendly revisions to his contract that might make it easier to do so.
“I just think Myles is … I could argue that Myles is the best player in the NFL, OK?” Haslam said Monday to a small group of reporters covering the NFL owners meetings including cleveland.com.
“And you could say, ‘Well, no, you’ve got to pick the quarterbacks’ and I wouldn’t argue against that because quarterback is so important in the NFL, but he had his best year ever. If you know Myles, he takes phenomenal care of himself and I think he’ll remain the best player in the NFL and a top-rate defender for the next five years.
“Guys like Myles Garrett do not come along very much. They just don’t. They don’t come along. He is a unicorn. And Myles is an integral part of what we do at the Cleveland Browns.”
Haslam opened the 25-minute session by apologizing to fans for the 8-26 record of the past two seasons.
“We’d be remiss if we didn’t start by saying that we share our fans’ frustration,” he said. “The last two seasons have not been good. We’re not fun to watch and we haven’t won games. And I just want to let the fans know that Dee and I, JW, Whitney, our entire organization, feel their pain and we’re 1000% committed to getting this fixed and getting it right. And that’s easier said than done.
“The proof’s in the pudding, but we’re totally focused on getting this fixed. And what we’ve done in the last few years is not acceptable.”
Does he believe he can get it done in the next five years with Garrett still on the roster? After his contentious trade demand last offseason, they signed him to a four-year extension through 2030 worth $40 million a year. He responded by earning his second NFL Defensive Player of the Year award and setting the NFL single-season sack record with 23.0.
“I do,” Haslam said. “We have a long way to go and talk is cheap, but teams have turned things around quickly. We’ve got a lot of work to do on offense.”
Haslam said he believes Garrett — described as a “career Brown” on Sunday by GM Andrew Berry — is fully committed to being here, even though he said at the end of the season he wasn’t up for more rebuilding.
“Absolutely,” he said. “We spent a lot of time with Myles the day after the season. We had a great conversation about the offseason, the direction of the team, what we were looking for, et cetera. And AB (Berry) talks to Myles regularly.
He said he doubts Garrett will be on hand for the start of the offseason program April 7, “but Myles hasn’t shown the need to be there and we have a new defensive coordinator (Mike Rutenberg), but we’re basically going to run the same defense. So I think Myles will be ready to go.”
What about Garrett’s apparent dismay over the loss of defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz as expressed in an Instagram post depicting a person hanging her head, and rumors that he hasn’t been in much contact?
“We anticipate Myles fully buying in,” he said. “Now let me say, it’s not unusual for Myles not to be in real close contact with us in the offseason. So he’s not the kind of guy that’s there all the time and calls you every week. That’s just different styles. It’s fine.”
But Haslam is confident that the best defensive player in the NFL will give his all, just like he did last year. And for the next five years if all goes as planned.
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