BEREA, Ohio — Myles Garrett showed up for mandatory minicamp on Tuesday with his guns popping and would’ve flatted rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel on one play in 11-on-11s had contact been allowed and he hadn’t slammed on the brakes.
Armed with his new, $40 million-a-year contract and his messy trade request behind him, Garrett has accepted the gauntlets laid down by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, and is more than ready to be everything the Browns need him to be.
Schwartz last week quoted Uncle Ben in Spiderman when he said of Garrett “with great power comes responsibility,” and predicted he’ll have his best career season in the wake of his trade demand and blockbuster extension. That would mean possibly exceeding his club-record 16.0 sacks, and being amongst the league leaders in pressures, pass-block win-rate and taking on double teams.
“I look forward to having my best season for sure and I think it’s trending that way,” Garrett said. “It’s been really good and I think everything’s pulling in that direction and I like where we are as a defensive unit. It’s really firing, really rolling and I think it’s really clicking as far as the scheme and the plays, especially early on. That’s big.”
He agrees wholeheartedly with Uncle Ben’s credo.
“And responsibilities never changed,” he said. “The powers never changed, no. Since the day I stepped forth here at this facility with this organization, I’ve had an opportunity to have a platform and to set a standard and I’ve got to continue to be the leader for this team and set that standard.”
Likewise, Garrett hasn’t shied away from Haslam saying at the NFL Annual meeting in March that the Browns have challenged him to “a real leader of the team ... he’s said he’d do that and we’re hopeful that he will be.”
“That’s his expectation,” Garrett said. “It’s been his expectation from the beginning. And I think losing a leader like Nick (Chubb) as well, it definitely puts more of an expectation on to gain more leadership in other areas. And he pointed at me and put the red dot on me, and that’s fine. I’ll continue to grow as a leader and as a player, which I expect to every year and do what I can. He gave me that power and I’ve got to be responsible for it.”
Having dropped in at the Browns facility a few times during the offseason program and spending the first day of mandatory minicamp with the 2025 roster, he’s already confident that the narrative has changed since January when he demanded a new address because he didn’t the Browns’ goals for winning aligned with his own.
“I know they’ll be better,” he said. “I know we will be better.”
What makes him so sure?
“Always staying in communication with the guys, seeing how they’re working and continue to be a presence even while I’m not physically here, but I’m back and now it is time to go,” he said.
A ninth-year pro and 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, he’s fully prepared to take the bull by the horns and help elevate his teammates.
“If they don’t get it, you make ‘em get it,” he said. “Like I said, being that leader, setting that standard and showing guys how it’s done instead of expecting ‘em to know it. Guys come from different places, come from college and you got to push ‘em in the right direction. You’ve got to guide them.”
He knows it’s up to him this season, with everything that transpired in the offseason, to help his teammates reach their potential. With the Browns not yet knowing who their starting quarterback is, it’s even more incumbent upon him to show the way.
“I think the intensity and the urgency just has to take take another level up,” he said. “And I can’t expect someone else to do it on any other side of the ball or any other position room. You’ve got to be the leader in the entire team and that’s what’s been laid out for me. Like you said, Jimmy said it, Kevin (Stefanski) said it, and I’ll take the reins and I’ll be that guy.”
Of course, he’ll have plenty of help. Fellow Pro Bowler Denzel Ward, for one, has become an excellent leader over the years, and is already setting the tone. In January, he worried about what might happen to the team if the Browns traded Garrett, and was instrumental in convincing him to stay.
“I’ve talked to the guys and they understand it’s a business and we love what we do and I love this team and he understands that I was trying to do what’s best for me and after talking with him and like I said months ago, talking with A.B. and Kev, what’s best for me and what’s best for this team, eventually we got aligned and we’re looking forward to the future of this team and how we can achieve the goals that we want to,” he said.
As part of his talks with the Berry, he lobbied for the Browns to keep Chubb, to no avail. Chubb, the Browns’ four-time Pro Bowler, signed Monday with the Texans after the Browns replaced him with two rookies in Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson, and kept Jerome Ford as the No. 3 back by cutting his pay in half to $1.75 million guaranteed.
“That was part of my talks with AB a couple months ago, asking about the situation with Nick and how that’s going to work out and how we can get him back here,” Garrett said. “I know it means a lot to the fans, but he means a lot to us as well in the locker room. So it’s an emotional blow to not having him here, but we’ve got to keep on moving, keep on trucking. We got some very talented backs in that room. Some young hungry guys who have a hell of an example to watch and some shoes to fill. But he’s one of the best to ever do in the brown and orange and we appreciate everything he’s done.”
Garrett also provided value on Day 1 by giving pointers to new fulltime left tackle Dawand Jones off to the side.
“He’s just trying to get a bit of my cues, my mindset as far as going against him, at that type position on that side,” he said. “What made me do what move, what triggered this response and this reaction and just trying to walk through it with him and help him get rid of some tendencies that he has on that side and just try to sharpen him up.”
A young player such as No. 5 overall pick Mason Graham, the defensive tackle out of Michigan, will improve just by breathing the same air as Garrett.
“I think he’s hungry,” Garrett said. “He’s pretty quiet, but I see him watching a lot. I see him learning and he’s just really inquisitive, staying near to make sure that he hears every detail and just picking up on things. I see him taking things from the meeting room to the playing field, not really asking any questions but just naturally picking up on those too.”
When Garrett had his heart-to-heart talks with Berry in the offseason, he had an inkling the Browns were re-signing Joe Flacco. It was one of the reasons Garrett felt better about coming back, even if Flacco’s embroiled in a four-way QB competition.
“He’s a calm, cool presence in the QB room, which I think you always need when you have young guys in there,” Garrett said. “I mean, it doesn’t hurt at any time. Even if you have a veteran, there’s someone to give you some sound, insightful advice to help you walk through things. That’s always a great asset. So to have that in the QB room, which is the most important room in the building, that’s great.”
While Garrett won’t make Flacco quake in his cleats this summer, he’ll certainly help get the three young QBs ready to play. On Tuesday, the only one he went against in team drills was Gabriel. Flacco and Kenny Pickett didn’t take any 11-on-11 reps, and Shedeur Sanders worked against the second team defense.
“(Gabriel) looks composed,” Garrett said. “He’s running the offense pretty well. His eyes got pretty big when I got free and I was face up on him. But all of them look pretty calm, just going through their checks, going through their calls, making the plays they need to make, not doing too much right now and they’ll have time to continue to display their talents and it’s just one day at a time. Continue to earn the trust of your coaches and your teammates and I think they’ll be able to open up the game.”
Stefanski, for one, was happy to have Garrett back in the house and wreaking havoc even in his limited reps.
“Good to have Myles in the building, obviously being around his teammates,” Stefanski said. “And as you can imagine, he’s in great shape and it’s good for us to just see where these guys are, get some work in and obviously expose them to some of the different nuances to what we’re doing.”
If he leads the entire team as promised, and has his best season ever, that will be a fantastic return on investment.
Cleveland Browns' veteran minicamp, June 10, 2025
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