The Cleveland Browns remain in a rebuilding phase, trading a generational pass rusher in Myles Garrett earlier this week. Although one major cornerstone of their defense is gone, another key member of it wants to stay, as Denzel Ward clarified on Saturday.
“I definitely still want to be here. Myles is a good friend of mine, great teammate, but things aren’t lost, you know. It’s still Ohio against the world. So, you know, people could doubt us, but we’re still going out there, trying to play our best ball and bring wins to this city,” Ward said via Browns reporter Scott Petrak on X.
Given where the Browns currently stand in the AFC North, trading Garrett did make some sense. It’s always hard to see a generational talent leave. But the Browns clearly weren’t going to be contending for the playoffs with him. In trading Garrett, they did get quite a nice haul for the future. Cleveland landed a dynamic young pass rusher in Jared Verse, as well as a future first, second and third-round pick from Los Angeles.
However, trading one star did cause a lot of speculation about the future of Denzel Ward. He’s still playing at a high level, and would probably net a solid return if he was on the trade block. He’s not old by any means, but he’s not far from 30 either. Ward isn’t necessarily a perfect fit for the youth movement Cleveland is building.
Yet, he clearly wants to remain a Brown. And the Browns would have good reason to keep him around. Ward is coming off another great season, allowing under 400 yards through 15 games, and a passer rating of just 88.1 when targeted. He also came away with 39 tackles and earned Pro Bowl honors for the third consecutive season.
While he’s now 29-years old, Ward can be an excellent mentor for a new wave of youth across the Browns’ roster. He remains with plenty of youngsters on defense including Carson Schwesinger, Mason Graham and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.
Facing the Browns will be easier without Myles Garrett. But Denzel Ward still presents plenty of problems for an offense, as the Steelers experienced last year. It doesn’t sound like he wants to go anywhere anytime soon.
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