Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett requested a trade, citing the team's troubling long-term outlook and his hopes to win a Super Bowl. In the end, a multi-year extension worth an average of $40 million changed his tune.
Garrett will return to the Browns, but it's clear he hopes to do so on a team with legitimate competitive aspiration.
That starts with improvement under center, to which the offseason already hasn't been kind. The best options – Matthew Stafford and Geno Smith – were taken off the board. Sam Darnold and Justin Fields found new homes. That has essentially left Cleveland with Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson as the favorites to start in Week 1.
On Thursday, Wilson visited the Browns and talked to Garrett, who hilariously recruited him with a reminder of what's to come if he returns to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"I won't take him to the ground three or four times a year," Garrett told reporters.
Cleveland will play Pittsburgh twice in 2025, and if it's anything like 2024 – when the teams split – Wilson will have to watch his back. Garrett logged four sacks in those two games, giving credibility to his threats.
Wilson won six of his first seven starts in Pittsburgh before the sky fell in Western Pennsylvania down the stretch. The Browns can't offer the esteem, supporting cast, or stability that the Steelers can. They can, however, give Wilson a chance to play with an offensive play caller that isn't Arthur Smith, who reportedly clashed with the quarterback and preferred to bring Fields back.
If nothing else, Wilson is an upgrade over the horrendous quarterback Cleveland put forth with Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Related: Myles Garrett Sets the Record Straight on Browns Contract Drama
"I mean him and I had a little bit of conversation at the Pro Bowl as well as here, and I definitely think he'd be a valuable asset as a leader, as a mentor to those young guys. Veteran leadership can't be understated. And I think he definitely has some juice left at the position. He's got plenty of arm left," Garrett said, via ProFootballTalk.
Wilson isn't drastically changing the Browns' fortunes. His days as a franchise quarterback are over, and he won't make them the kind of competitor Garrett wanted to be traded to. Yet, the quickest path back to relevance is akin to 2022, when Garrett headlined an elite defense and the offense got hot at just the right time to forge a playoff appearance.
As Wilson showed last year, that is well within his range of outcomes.
Related: Myles Garrett's Agent Reacts to Shocking Browns Update In Viral Post
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This story was originally published March 16, 2025 at 10:21 AM.