CLEVELAND, OHIO (TheOBR.com) - Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
I don't blame you. I don't even blame the Cleveland Browns front office.
When news broke that the Cleveland Browns had agreed to restructure Myles Garrett's contract in a way that opens the door to a potential trade of the superstar pass rusher, my first thought was, "It's never going to happen." After all, Garrett is a generational talent and has a shot at breaking enough records to convince some that he might be among the best rushers of all time, if not the best by the time he's done. You don't trade a player like that. You just don't.
So, I suspected that the contract modifications gave the Browns more cap flexibility, or at least would allow Garrett to scratch the itch to find a winning team with a massive number of draft picks to deal. But they surely wouldn't ever pull the trigger on perhaps the most impactful player the team has had since the return, a genuine Hall of Fame talent. (No offense to the great Joe Thomas.)
But then Jack Duffin said that he considers it 50/50 that they deal Garrett, and that there's little alternative rationale for the move. One thing that has penetrated my dense skull over the past few years is that I should always take Jack seriously when he says things like this. The guy knows the salary cap and the science of roster construction better than anyone else out there.
Myles Garrett
Myles Garrett: On the Move? (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
You know who I do blame? The NFL owners and the television networks.
For the last few decades, the NFL has increasingly become focused on creating high-scoring, high-octane offenses. Team owners have ensured that rules are continually tweaked and changed to create a faster-paced, more passing-oriented game. Teams - even the Browns in a few years - are increasingly playing games indoors, on fast tracks with minimal wind that emphasize the passing game. Quarterbacks are the stars.
The quarterback position has always been important in the NFL, since the days of Otto Graham, but never like this. If you have a top-tier quarterback, you're competitive. If you don't, you're not. An oversimplification, perhaps, but that's how the game is structured in 2026.
If the Browns trade Myles Garrett in what could be a huge, desperate move akin to the desperation seen in the Watson deal, it would be because they believe it puts the team in a better position to finally land a top quarterback and become competitive in time to sell those expensive PSLs in the Jimmy Haslam Uberdome. That quarterback might just be available in next year's draft, in the form of Arch Manning or another player.
I can't blame them. Perhaps I am even starting to believe some of the conspiracy theories that have arisen about the team's proposed rule change that allows trades of draft picks five years out.
But it's not their fault. The way that the rules have been written, a great quarterback trumps a great player at any other position at any time. The Browns have to do whatever it takes to get that player. And they very well might.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
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When not worriedly watching the headlines,, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
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