Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett (95) is set to become the NFL's highest-paid non-quarterback. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP)
Star pass rusher Myles Garrett has agreed to a record-breaking contract extension to keep him with the Cleveland Browns after he previously had sought to be traded. The four-year, approximately $160 million deal makes Garrett the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history and means that other teams that might be in the market for a pass rusher, such as the Washington Commanders, will have to look elsewhere.
Garrett, 29, requested a trade from the Browns last month, citing a desire to play for a championship-caliber team. The Browns, coming off a 3-14 season, said consistently since then that they did not intend to trade Garrett, the 2023 NFL defensive player of the year. Now they’ve agreed to a contract that covers the next six seasons, including the two years that were left on Garrett’s existing deal.
The $40 million average annual value of Garrett’s extension surpasses the $35.5 million average of the three-year, $106.5 million extension that another standout pass rusher, Maxx Crosby, completed last week with the Las Vegas Raiders.
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Garrett’s agreement with the Browns was confirmed by people familiar with the deliberations. According to one of those people, Garrett’s deal includes nearly $122.8 million in guaranteed money and contains a no-trade clause. It means that he is due to be paid nearly $204.8 million over the next six seasons by the Browns. Garrett has totaled 102.5 sacks and is a six-time Pro Bowl selection over his eight seasons with the Browns.
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Things came undone for the Browns last season after they went 11-6 and reached the playoffs in the 2023 season while leading the league in total defense. They’ve had losing records in three of the past four seasons and possess the No. 2 overall choice in this year’s NFL draft.
“The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton,” Garrett said in the early-February statement in which he announced his trade request, referring to the Ohio city where the Pro Football Hall of Fame is located, “it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl.”
But Garrett is staying put, and the Browns will attempt to rebuild their roster to return to playoff-contending status. They will need to address their quarterback situation, with Deshaun Watson expected to miss much to all of the 2025 season after suffering a second rupture of the Achilles’ tendon in his right leg.
If the Commanders want to add a pass-rushing centerpiece after surprisingly reaching last season’s NFC championship game, they’ll have to sort through a list of remaining possibilities that includes Trey Hendrickson, Josh Sweat and Joey Bosa.
The Cincinnati Bengals have granted Hendrickson, who led the NFL with his 17.5 sacks last season, permission to seek a trade. Sweat is set to become an unrestricted free agent after spending the past seven seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and helping them to their Super Bowl victory last month. He had 2.5 sacks in the Eagles’ Super Bowl dismantling of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Los Angeles Chargers last week released Bosa, a five-time Pro Bowl selection in his nine NFL seasons. Bosa could join his brother Nick with the San Francisco 49ers.