Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett appears to be straight up not having a good time these days, a byproduct of locking himself into a terrible franchise that has not solved its issues and created a culture that could be conducive to winning. This past offseason, he demanded a trade. When the front office agreed to make him the game’s highest-paid non-quarterback, though, he changed his tune. Not only that, he agreed to a no-trade clause in his contract.
In Garrett’s defense, I don’t think he expected them to start the season 1-5. But he can’t be surprised, though, can he? After all, this is the Browns we’re talking about, and Myles Garrett isn’t new here. If we can “keep it real” for a moment here, in the vernacular of today’s hip and with-it youth, they have sucked for most of his career. They only have two non-losing seasons, and they went 0-16 his rookie year. Cleveland won all of three games in 2024 before he demanded a trade.
So surely he isn’t going to find a great deal of sympathy as he vents his frustration after willingly committing himself to one of the worst sports franchises in the United States. Some of you might still want to Brian Branch him, but JuJu Smith-Schuster was right about the Browns.
After Sunday’s double-digit loss to the Steelers, a reporter asked Myles Garrett about his thoughts while watching Pittsburgh’s defense go to work with a big lead. “Must be nice”, he said. He ended his press conference by answering a question from Mary Kay Cabot.
In so many words, she asked Garrett if, like former Browns great Joe Thomas, all of the losing as making it increasingly difficult to dig deep and find motivation to give it your all during games when it’s hard to believe you have a chance of winning. “Yeah”, was his only response, commanding body language that she described as “almost defeated”.
Granted, people are not at their most chipper after badly losing a game. Myles Garrett hasn’t had a lot to be chipper about while donning his candy-corn-laced-turd-colored costume over the years, at least except when checking his bank account. It’s not surprising that he might feel this way.
But there’s a reason the Germans created the word schadenfreude. It’s a word I’ve brought up multiple times over the years, and probably most often associated it with the Browns. Essentially, it’s the pleasure that you take in the misfortunes of others. A childhood bully stepping on a rake, or a lactose-intolerant coworker finding out the hard way that the sandwich they stole that day unexpectedly had cheese on it.
Or watching Myles Garrett sit by himself in his graveyard, moping, wondering what to do with the Aaron Rodgers tombstone. It turns out, the most notable occupant of his graveyard is his hopes of ever achieving team success. That’s what happens when you sign multiple extensions to be the face of the Browns’ franchise.
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