Myles Garrett wants to be part of the Browns.
He doesn't want to be part of a rebuild.
After following up a playoff season with a driftless 3-11 one through 14 games, the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year hopes the team brass can provide evidence over the offseason that Cleveland isn't heading for just that.
"I'm not trying to rebuild," Garrett said Friday, . "I'm trying to win right now. And I want that to be apparent when the season is over and we have those discussions. I want them to be able to illuminate, illustrate that for me so that 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 faith in me by drafting me. 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 ... I think that would really keep my mind at rest and keep me settled."
Garrett's thirst to play meaningful games has rarely been quenched through eight years with the team that drafted him.
He joined Cleveland as the first overall pick in 2017, an infamous season that saw the Browns become just the second team in NFL history to go 0-16.
A five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, Garrett has played just three postseason games -- two in 2020, when the Browns earned their first playoff win since 1994, and again last season, a lopsided 45-14 loss to the Houston Texans.
Despite the loss, that trip beyond Week 18 provided optimism moving forward, especially against the backdrop of managing to go 11-6 using five starting quarterbacks.
This season began as that one did, with Deshaun Watson leading the way under center, but he struggled as he has throughout his Cleveland tenure, and he suffered a season-ending injury for a second consecutive season. That led the Browns to again engage in quarterback roulette at 1-6 with a shot at a playoff return fading away. For the past seven games it's been Jameis Winston. On Sunday against the Bengals, it will be Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Although the defense has fallen off, too, dropping from 13th in scoring last year to 26th and plummeting from first to 18th in yards allowed, the offense has cratered to an even greater degree. The unit, which finished 10th in points scored in 2023, is now the third-worst in the league.
Much of that naturally falls on inconsistency at quarterback.
"Absolutely," Garrett said when asked if the plans he hopes to see include the QB spot. "Whether [Thompson-Robinson] is the solution or someone else is, it's got to be drawn out. There's got to be a plan of action."
Garrett, who turns 29 in eight days, is laying all of this out there as he still has two more years on his contract from the extension he inked in 2020.
Almost since he's arrived, Garrett has been without defensive equal on the Browns. If he desires to be keyed in on plans -- ones that involve winning again sooner than later -- Cleveland would be wise to make that happen.
"I want to be a Cleveland Brown," Garrett said. "I want to play here. I want to end my career here. 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 be playing past January."
