Myles Garrett continues to produce, and the Cleveland Browns continue to lose. While he may successfully defend his NFL Defensive Player of the Year crown, fans of the team can’t help but wonder what comes next. The Browns are in the middle of another miserable season, and he is growing weary.
In their Dec. 22 game, Garrett became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 100 career sacks. And he did so in a blowout Browns loss, in which he jumped offsides on a free-play touchdown. Yesterday, he became the first player to record 14-plus sacks in four consecutive seasons—in a blowout Browns loss.
Something has got to give, and the fans know it. If you look at basically any social media post the Browns make, especially if it involves Myles Garrett, it strikes a tone of melancholy—a lament for an age soon lost. They know they have something special in Garrett—yet feel they may be seeing the last of him in Cleveland. Below is just a sampling of the tone you’ll find in the comments of this and other tweets.
Recently, a report surfaced indicating that Garrett wants to see some action on the Browns’ part. Coming to the other end of a dismal season, he wants to see a concrete plan from the organization to turn the Browns into winners. And if they can’t provide him that, the implication is that he might try to force his exit.
That’s hardly a far-fetched scenario, as we see players with pull do this regularly today—or at least attempt it. Why would Myles Garrett be so in love with the Cleveland Browns that he wouldn’t want to go to a team capable of winning?
The thing is, he probably thought in recent years that the Browns actually had a chance of winning. They even did win, occasionally, making the playoffs a couple times. We can’t ignore the fact that Garrett and the gang even beat the Steelers in the playoffs. But the Browns team that has taken the field this year doesn’t look anything like a contender.
And that is with Myles Garrett having an excellent season. He shares the NFL lead with 14 sacks, along with 21 tackles for loss, 28 hits, and three forced fumbles. If he doesn’t win the Defensive Player of the Year Award, he’ll easily be in the top three. And he’s close to the only Browns player anybody has any business paying attention to.
Not that losing Garrett would likely have much of an impact on the Browns’ fan base. These are people who are in it for the long haul—you don’t exactly hop on a Browns bandwagon. They have been through worse. But at least in recent years, they have been able to see a glimpse of excellence. One more demonstrative and obvious than Joe Thomas, whose exceptionality was understated as a natural extension of his position.
But it’s hard to ignore the sense of loss that Browns fans are feeling right now. Not even for the lost season, but for the possibility that they have just watched Myles Garrett play in his last Browns home game. Not that fans of the other AFC North teams would complain if Cleveland managed to chase him out of the division.
