Andrew Berry confirms the Browns aren’t trading Myles Garrett, ‘a career Brown,’ in the wake of contract tweak
PHOENIX — General manager Andrew Berry confirmed at the NFL owners meeting Sunday that the Browns aren’t trading reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in the wake of contract modifications last week.
In fact, Berry seemed a little irked by the question during an interview with a small group of Browns beat writers covering the meetings.
Cleveland.com broke the news last Wednesday after the restructure was reported that the Browns have no plans to trade him. It’s the corollary to last year, when Berry steadfastly refused to trade Garrett despite his contentious demand to go elsewhere to win a Super Bowl.
“Myles is a career Brown,” Berry said. “He’s one of the faces of our organization. I think we’ve been very clear both past and present in terms of our goals. I understand all the questions. I’ll be honest, I don’t really want to waste a ton more breath on the topic.”
Pressed on why he wouldn’t trade such a valuable asset when it could help the Browns dig out of their hole, Berry indicated that the Browns don’t want to part with the best defensive player in the NFL when they’re on the cusp of contending.
They fielded a championship-caliber defense in 2025, and are upgrading their offense this offseason under new coach Todd Monken.
“We’ll always do what we think is in the best interest of the organization,” Berry said. “We really like our core. I think as we look at the team, we have an elite young defense. We have a really rebuilt offensive line. We have nine picks this upcoming draft and I think seven are in the top 150. Three in the top 40.
“We have a good offensive young core that we brought in last year. And honestly, as we saw last year, there are more than one way to generate assets in the NFL. So we’ll always do what’s best for the organization, but we feel really good about our roster right now before the draft.”
As for why he revised the contract — which among other things delayed Garrett’s option bonuses over the next three seasons from March to September — he declined to say.
The revisions give the Browns cap flexibility, and also make him easier to trade, even though they’re not moving him.
“Standard practice, I don’t comment on player contracts,” he said. “I guess probably the easiest thing to say is, if we wanted to trade Myles, we wouldn’t need to make a contract adjustment, so it doesn’t have anything to do with that.”
Asked if he feels they’re in a good spot with Garrett, he said, “We do.”
He indicated, however, that Garrett probably won’t participate much in the Browns offseason program, which begins April 7, two weeks earlier for teams with a new head coach. The Browns not only have a new coach in Monken, but Garrett also has a new defensive coordinator in Mike Rutenberg.
“It’s a voluntary program, so I’d imagine he’d do his same schedule, that type of thing,” Berry said of Garrett.
Garrett, who agreed to a four-year contract extension last March through 2030 worth $40 million a year, secured a no-trade clause in his contract along with that extension, and had to agree to these changes, which were finalized on Tuesday.
In essence, Garrett’s options bonuses in 2026, 2027 and 2028 have been pushed back from March to September, giving the Browns a six-month break on the cap in each of those years.
Previously, the Browns would’ve had to exercise the options by the 15th day of the league year, which was March 25 this year.
Now, they have until seven days before the regular season in each of those seasons to do so.
Garrett would’ve been paid $10 million in 2026, $13 million in 2027, and $7 million in 2028 within a month of the option being exercised in March. Now, he’ll wait six months for the bonuses, but the Browns have also modified the payout in a way that benefits Garrett.
In addition, the Browns converted $8 million of Garrett’s $30 million base salaries in 2029 and 2030 to roster bonuses to be paid out early in the league year.
Speculation that the revisions signaled a possible trade stemmed from the fact that Garrett said toward the end of the season that he wasn’t up for more rebuilding and that he wants to win now.
“I quote Maxx (Crosby),” he said of the Raiders All-Pro edge rusher the Thursday before the season finale in Cincinnati. “I’m committed to winning and as long as the team and the organization are doing so — they’re committed to that same thing — then I’m all on board. But if we’re thinking anything other than winning -- tanking or rebuilding -- it’s not me.”
When his beloved defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz quit after being passed over for the head coach job in favor of Monken, Garrett posted a photo of a fast-food worker sitting on a bench with her head down.
But the Browns were in close contact with Garrett during the coaching search, and at the start of free agency two weeks ago, and he remains committed to the team.
The restructure also comes less than a week after the Browns submitted a proposal to the NFL to enable trades of draft picks to extend five years instead of three. Some are connecting the dots between that move and the Garrett news.
But Berry explained that the two events are not connected, and that the proposal is designed to foster more flexibility and creativity in the NFL trade market.
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