The Browns skillfully minimized the drama to gain an extension to Miles Garrett’s blockbuster: Ashley Bastock

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Miles Garrett’s trade demands reached a spectacular (and somehow still quite anti-climax) conclusion on Sunday.

After weeks of claims by Garrett, there was a change of heart after he wanted to leave the Browns and hunt down the Super Bowl, just as he spent eight years hunting against the quarterbacks.

On Sunday, the Browns agreed to sign the 29-year-old star on a $160 million extension over four years worth of $40 million a year. It makes him the highest paying non-around sides in the NFL.

Yes, after weeks of drama and heels dig into both sides, Cleveland.com reports all end on historic payday after reports that Garrett has not been open to contract extensions.

But what GM Andrew Berry and The Browns are most trusted about this is how they minimized drama along the way, allowing them to move on to the start of this week’s new league year.

The story began on December 20th and revealed that if Garrett fails to show him the blueprint for competing in 2025, he might want to leave Cleveland.

But things seemed to be heading in a positive direction. On Berry’s season rap-up press, he was optimistic about Garrett’s future, and at about the same time in the episode “Hard Knock: In Season with AFC North,” Garrett said “We’re closer than we think.”

Again, when Berry said he wouldn’t trade Garrett (even if someone offered him two round picks), it seemed nothing when he was open to stretching him.

It all came to mind just before the Super Bowl when Garrett publicly dropped the Trade Request Bombshell in a statement sent to cleveland.com and several other news outlets and reaffirmed his wishes with a round of radio rows.

But with each new development, the Browns were held firmly and unshakable to their stance.

Two weeks ago at the NFL Combine, Berry made it clear that he was not engaged in trade consultations, and took it a step further and really refused to engage in the premises of those questions.

“I don’t really touch on any conversations with other teams. Just paying respect,” Berry said. “I don’t think it’s suitable only for current and future businesses, but I’m not interested in Miles’ trading so it has nothing to do with this situation.”

Head coach Kevin Stefanski said the next day at his own combine press conference that the soccer business side could develop their heads like this, but he doesn’t expect Garrett to stay in Cleveland.

“He’s part of the present and he’s part of the future,” he said.

Two days later, when Officer Ug told Cleveland.com that Garrett had not accepted the extension of the contract.

But once again, the Browns refused to be upset. That was especially included when Garrett recently requested a meeting with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam. He was denied and Haslam instead returned him to Berry, leaving him firm that those issues were in the hands of GM.

It would have been easy to imagine this having a much more dramatic and drawn conclusion in the Browns administrations when there was internal conflict and discrepancy between the combination of ownership, front office and coaching staff.

However, in this regime, by laying the initial Garrett stance, turning the wagon and relaying the same message, the Browns came to the best conclusion.

For now, it may still be fairly easy for fans to turn berry into scapegoats. People are still (under no surprise) angry at the 2024 Browns’ 3-14 finish. And the issues with Desshaun Watson’s trade, his poor play, and the caps that his contracts created. And even now, fans may be troubled in the short term that the Browns respect Garrett’s trade demands and not only stockpiled a few draft picks for him.

But it’s worth noting if the Browns had a change of heart and were open to financially swapping him.

Prior to this contract, Garrett counted at $19.72 billion in caps, with at least $36.2 million in deaths and $16.5 million in cap rooms lost in cap rooms.

The June 1 deal was more feasible (it had only $14,758 million in 2026, $10.25 million in 2026, $7.032 and $3.798 million in 2027), but by that point, the draft compensation for him was two years ago.

However, locking Garrett with the extension will allow the front office to begin tomorrow and the new league year begins on Wednesday, so the front office will take a more clearer path. His return is very likely to be seduced by potential free agents.

Garrett’s Return means that other major veterans like Denzel Ward, David Nyuk and Greg Newsom II can also relax towards the season.

These returns, young edge rushers like Alex Wright and Isaiah McGuire, as well as the Browns Draft rookies next month, don’t have to spend much of the offseason answering questions about Garrett. Potential distractions are largely stopped on that truck.

The Browns threw a lot of Garrett’s methods to correct this issue, but they also continued to unite to get the deal done. The first is not without the second one.

And this deal will allow everyone to move on now and spend plenty of time by September.

In the end, the cooler head (and a lot of money) won, giving Cleveland credit for that.