Cleveland Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett headed to radio row in New Orleans on Wednesday to push his recent trade request.
The star edge rusher joined The Rich Eisen Show at Super Bowl LIX's media center, expounding on the reasons behind his desire to leave Cleveland after eight seasons.
"I have a lot of love for Cleveland, but it's always for me been about [competing] for championships, winning those big games and winning Lombardis," Garrett told Eisen. "We haven't had the opportunity to do that. That's all I'm asking for."
In his initial statement making his trade request public, Garrett noted, "The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl." It's a thought he doubled down on Wednesday.
"It's never been about the Hall of Fame for me," he told Eisen. "It's not about money or records. You're remembered for winning, bringing a trophy back home to your city, whichever city that is. That's how you're remembered in your community, by your peers, your teammates, your friends, all of that. We want to play the game, we want to do things to be remembered."
The Browns' quarterback situation likely means yet another rebuild in Cleveland. The Deshaun Watson trade didn't work out, and the veteran QB could miss the entire 2025 campaign due to the Achilles injury. With that backdrop, Garrett doesn't want to hang around.
"It's not a decision I take lightly," Garrett said. "It took time and lots of conversation, but just looking at the trajectory of the team, talking to some of the higher-ups ... I have a lot of respect for them, but I just don't think we're aligned on where the team is going in the near future."
It's the type of stance Matthew Stafford took in Detroit in 2021 -- albeit less public -- a star player on a perpetually rebuilding team with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel. Garrett would like the same confetti ending that Stafford found in Los Angeles with the Rams.
"I feel like the window for us as athletes is only so broad and only continues to close as years go by with anything being able to happen on that field from day to day," Garrett said. "I want to be able to go out there and compete at the highest levels, day in and day out, and play for championships, like I said."
Despite the request, the Browns reiterated this week that they have no intention of trading Garrett, per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.
The 29-year-old pass rusher said he wasn't yet willing to consider whether the Browns might dismiss the trade request.
"It's possible they could do that, but that's a little further down the line than I'm willing to look," Garrett said. "I know things have changed night by night. I'm sure people are calling and hopefully making some tempting offers."
Garrett added that he spoke with Akron native and former Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James before making his desire to move on from the Browns known. James has famously left Cleveland twice during his 22-year NBA career.
"What a transition looked like for him," he said of what he discussed with James. "What was his thought process going into it before he left Cleveland? Just making sure I made a logical decision, taking my time. Just trying to take away the pressure of doing something like that. Cleveland, really that area, northeast Ohio, has been his home. It feels like my home, as well."
A home he hopes to leave in the coming months.
