Browns DE Garrett wants to know team’s QB plan, offseason agenda

BEREA, Ohio – Despite another double-digit loss season, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett wants to continue his career in Cleveland.

But the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year definitely wants to know the Browns have a plan to put him on a winning team soon.

Garrett said Friday he has no desire for a rebuild and wants to talk with the organization’s decision makers about its offseason plans, including at quarterback.

“I’m not trying to rebuild,” he said. “I’m trying to win right now. And I want it to be clear when the season is over and we have those discussions. I want them to be able to illuminate, illustrate it to me so it can be something , I can see in the near future Because that’s all we want to do.

“I want to stay loyal to a team that showed loyalty to me and believed in me by drafting me. But at the end of the day we have to do what’s best for us. So if we have the adjustment where it is something that’s still possible in the near future — winning, going deep in the playoffs, putting a great defense out there… I think that would really keep my mind at ease and keep me calm.”

Garrett, 28, has two years remaining on the five-year extension he signed in 2020. A new deal in the offseason could provide the Browns with much-needed cap relief. Garrett has played in just three playoff games since Cleveland selected him with the top pick in the 2017 draft.

Last week, Garrett expressed support for head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry, who have led the organization since the 2020 season.

But on Friday, Garrett was more vocal in his desire to see the team’s plans.

When asked if those plans included the quarterback position, Garrett said: “Absolutely. Whether (quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson) is the solution or someone else is, it has to be drawn out. There has to be a plan of action.”

On Sunday, the Browns will start Thompson-Robinson, a 2023 fifth-round pick, for the recently benched Jameis Winston. Thompson-Robinson will be the third quarterback to start for the Browns this season and the 40th since the franchise moved back to Cleveland in 1999.

Deshaun Watson, for whom the organization traded three first-round picks and gave a fully guaranteed $230 million contract before the 2022 season, suffered a season-ending right Achilles tendon tear in Week 7. He has posted the lowest QBR among qualifying passers since making his debut in Cleveland.

“I want to be a Cleveland Brown. I want to play here. I want to finish my career here,” Garrett said. “But if we choose to do a rebuild and it’s two, three, four years out, I want to be able to compete and play at a high level, play meaningful games and play last January.”