By Jordan Long
The Cleveland Browns have decided to extend defensive end Myles Garrett to a record-setting deal. The contract is for 5 years, worth $125 million or $25 million a year.
Garrett is entering his 4th year in the league. Cleveland is the only franchise that he has played for. Garrett has proven to be a force on Cleveland’s defensive line. He can disrupt the opponent’s rushing attack and sack the quarterback. On rushing plays, Garrett brings down the running back for short yardage or tackles for loss, totaling 104 tackles in his career.
When it comes to sacking the quarterback, Garrett uses his strength to beat the offensive linemen. His speed takes over from there. Garrett recorded 30.5 sacks so far in his short time in the NFL. He can also smack the ball out of a quarterback’s hand for fumbles, causing 6 of them.
Garrett wanted to stay in Cleveland. According to ESPN, Garrett said, “In 2017, the Cleveland Browns bet on me. This city quickly became my home and these people quickly became my family. I’m eternally grateful for this opportunity, the support of my friends and family, the organization, my teammates, the fans — I could go on forever, but even that wouldn’t be enough time to express my gratitude. I’ll just say this: Keep betting on me, Cleveland, because I won’t let you down. Now, let’s get to work.”
The Browns knew how important it was to keep Garrett. He is still young at 24 years old and his play should keep improving at the NFL level. They hope he will continue to produce 10+ sacks a year like he has the last two seasons.
The Browns just need him to stay on the field. Garrett was suspended 6 games last year after taking off the helmet of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and trying to hit him with it. The incident occurred with 8 seconds left in week 11 of the Browns 21-7 win.
The Browns didn’t need to do it now. They could have waited until the 2021 season to reach this new contract with him. He is still on his rookie deal, paying him around $4.6 million this year and $15.184 million next year. They might be strapped for cap space if they need to add more free agents to make this team better after 2021. Hopefully this will work out for the Browns. They haven’t reached the postseason since 2002.
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