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Myles Garrett wants to 'be a Cleveland Brown,' but also wants to see plan for success
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- Myles Garrett wants to 'be a Cleveland Brown,' but also wants to see plan for success
BEREA — Myles Garrett wants to win a Super Bowl with the Cleveland Browns . He wants to end his career with them.
However, the star defensive end wants proof of concept of the first thing before the second thing comes to fruition.
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"I mean, it's a possibility, but I want to be a Cleveland Brown," Garrett said Friday when asked if he could see himself not with the Browns. "I want to play here, play my career here. But if we choose to do a rebuild and it's two, three, four years out, I want be able to compete and play at a high level, play meaningful games and be playing past January."
The proof of concept starts with the Browns showing Garrett, who will be 29 on Dec. 29, a proof of a plan. More than half of his eight-year career, five seasons, has been spent with Andrew Berry as the general manager and Kevin Stefanski as the head coach.
Those will be chief among the individuals Garrett will have those conversations with in a couple of weeks once Cleveland's disappointing season comes to an end in Baltimore on the weekend of Jan. 4-5.
"Well, for me, I mean first of all I want to win," Garrett said. "I want the Browns to be able to put me and us in position to win. I'm not trying to rebuild. I'm trying to win right now. I want that to be apparent, win the season's over and we have those discussions, I want them to be able to illuminate that for me, illustrate that for me, so that can be something that I can see in the near future. Because that's all we want to do."
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett celebrates a fourth-quarter fumble recovery against the Steelers, Dec 8, 2024, in Pittsburgh.
The Browns are 3-11 as they head to Cincinnati for Sunday's game against the Bengals (6-8). That's less than a year removed from when they headed to Cincinnati for last season's regular-season finale having won 11 games and clinched their second AFC playoff appearance in four season.
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Cleveland hasn't been mired in a season this bad record-wise since going winless in 2017. That was Garrett's rookie season, after the Browns had taken him No. 1 overall out of Texas A&M University.
"I'm going to stay loyal to a team that showed loyalty to me and faith in me by drafting me," Garrett said. "But we have to do, at the end of the day, what's best for us. So if we have that alignment where this is something that is still possible in the near future, winning, going deep in the playoffs, putting a great defense out there, having a time of possession, running-game offense, getting all the guys back, I think that would really keep my mind at rest, keep me settled. Not just mine, a lot of the guys on the defense, the D-line, around the team. But we have to continue to take strides forward, not just as players, but from the top down."
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam told ESPN on Dec. 11 at the NFL meetings in Texas that he was "very supportive" of Berry and Stefanski. Haslam gave both extensions in June after last season's second playoff appearance under their regime.
Haslam also said it was a "perplexing" season that would require a full autopsy once it concluded before determining ways to move forward. Garrett is one of those who is extremely interested to hear what that play may be for the future.
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett shakes hands with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Dec. 15, 2024, in Cleveland.
"I have no idea." Garrett said. I don't know what pieces they'll be adding or subtracting, so I can't hypothesize off of something I really don't know of. Like I said, I need to see a plan to make plans myself. That's for all of us, not just me."
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The Browns will have their third starting quarterback of the season Sunday with second-year pro Dorian Thompson-Robinson . He's replacing Jameis Winston , who started the last seven games in place of Deshaun Watson , who tore his Achilles tendon in Week 7 against Cincinnati.
It could be an audition for Thompson-Robinson, who made three starts as a rookie last season. Or, it could be someone hiding behind Door No. 2.
"As uncertain as it is now from the outside looking in, it's uncertain for us as well," Garrett said. "So if DTR is the solution or someone else is, it's got to be drawn out. There's got to be a plan of action and just got to know where things are going."
The Browns clearly are going to be in the market for a quarterback this offseason, with Watson having only started 19 games in three season since they sent three first-round picks. among others, to the Houston Texans in 2022 for the quarterback. They also gave him a fully-guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract which still has two seasons remaining, with a nearly $119 million cap hit if they cut him this offseason with a post-June 1 designation.
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Cleveland will have a first-round pick in this April's draft, one likely to be in the top 10. Garrett wasn't willing to work in hypotheticals regarding the possibility of having a rookie starting quarterback next season.
"I'd have to see it," Garrett said. "That's the plan, but plans change. We'd have to see if it actually happened. So again, hard for me to hypothesize since that hasn't happened and we haven't had any of those conversations."
(This story has been updated with new information.)
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Myles Garrett wants to be a Cleveland Brown, but wants to see the plan
