One month after Myles Garrett publicly requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns, the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year signed a record-breaking four-year extension with the franchise.
And while many — including Stephen A. Smith — have mocked Garrett for citing his desire to win a Super Bowl while demanding a trade only to re-sign with a consistently dysfunctional franchise coming off a 3-14 season, Bomani Jones believes the situation isn’t as cut and dry as many are making it out to be.
On Monday’s episode of The Right Time with Bomani Jones, the former Highly Questionable co-host discussed Garrett’s apparent about-face. And in doing so, Jones stated that despite the narrative surrounding the former Texas A&M star, the reality is that he didn’t have the leverage to “demand” a trade, per se.
“I think in the NFL, it’s important to make this distinction: in the NBA, I think you can do is demand a trade,” Jones said. “In the NFL, all you can really do is ask nice.”
Jones proceeded to point to the recent reports that Garrett had requested to meet with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam regarding his trade request, only to be denied and redirected to general manager Andrew Berry. Two days later, the six-time Pro Bowl selection signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension with the Browns — including $123.5 million in guaranteed money — making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
“There’s no way they were ever going to trade him,” Jones said before stating his belief that the 29-year-old is the best player in Browns history since Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown retired from the NFL following the 1965 season. “So they money-whipped Myles Garrett and they paid him that $123 million.”
While one could argue where Garrett ranks among the likes of Ozzie Newsome and Joe Thomas, Jones’ larger point is that mechanisms like the franchise tag and non-guaranteed contracts make it so that NFL players don’t enjoy the same contract leverage that NBA players possess. The good news for Garrett, however, is that didn’t prevent him from getting a record-breaking contract, even if his new deal comes with the caveat that he’ll seemingly spend the rest of his prime on a roster that doesn’t appear to be ready to compete for a Super Bowl anytime soon.