Browns avoid rebuild with Myles Garrett contract extension. Is it right decision? | Ulrich

BEREA — With tiny toy dinosaurs decorating the dais at Browns headquarters, six-time Pro Bowl defensive end and paleontology enthusiast Myles Garrett spoke Friday about signing the richest non-quarterback contract in NFL history.

Garrett's first news conference after he agreed Sunday to a four-year, $160 million contract extension, which includes $123 million guaranteed, provided him with an avenue to publicly celebrate a gargantuan payday.

He exchanged hugs and handshakes with general manager Andrew Berry and executive vice president JW Johnson on his way into the Dino Lucarelli Media Center. He posed for a photograph with agent Nicole Lynn after speaking for roughly 24 minutes. And he had a few family members in attendance.

Of course, the kumbaya moment represents a seismic change since Garrett requested a trade from the Browns on Feb. 3 and subsequently flirted with joining other teams during a media blitz on Super Bowl Radio Row. The driving force behind the trade request, Garrett insisted, was his desire to play for a contender and capture a Lombardi Trophy.

The drama was not necessary, though.

Garrett had two years left on his contract, and the Browns wanted to secure him for the foreseeable future. They would have been willing to give him a massive extension without a messy saga unfolding.

Garrett repeatedly insisted he has no regrets about requesting a trade.

“I had some frustration,” Garrett said, “and I feel like that helped us grow and have conversations that were difficult but needed to be had and that created a little bit more discourse, helped build some relationships and reaffirmed them. And now I feel like we’re in a better place, and now we can move on and grow from there.”

Garrett may have no regrets, but whether the Browns ultimately regret extending him remains a relevant question.

Yes, he's an all-time great defender, but his trade request created a fascinating choice for the franchise.

Picture two doors.

One door leads to a Browns rebuild coming off a miserable 3-14 season, a scenario Garrett said he didn't want to endure.

The other door opens a world in which the team is squarely in win-now mode with the hope of restoring the success of the 2023 season featuring a wild-card playoff appearance quarterbacked by fresh-off-the-couch Joe Flacco.

If you think the disastrous Deshaun Watson trade of March 2022 put the Browns behind the proverbial eight ball from roster and financial standpoints enough to necessitate a rebuild, the team biting the bullet by granting Garrett's trade request and using the returns to jump-start a recovery period would have made sense.

An argument for the Browns granting Garrett's trade request appeared under this byline at the time of his demand going public.

Resistance to rebuilding is easy to comprehend, though. NFL rebuilds come in different shapes and sizes, yet the Browns and their fans are especially scarred by the concept. Only one rebuild has resulted in as poor a record as 1-31 during the span of two seasons, and the 2016-17 Browns owned by Jimmy and Dee Haslam hold the dubious distinction.

A front office guided by Berry and coaching staff led by Kevin Stefanski are trying to keep jobs. Meanwhile, ownership is seeking public support as the Haslams push for a domed stadium in Brook Park.

It's not the least bit surprising the parties involved consider a rebuild too harsh to stomach right now.

With Browns brass choosing the door leading to win-now mode, reaching a resolution to keep the 29-year-old Garrett checked a gigantic box on the to-do list.

Any team uninterested in rebuilding would want Garrett, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2017, a four-time first-team All-Pro selection, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the 2023 season and Cleveland's all-time sacks leader with 102.5.

Trading Garrett would have created $36 million in dead money for the Browns. However, trading him after June 1 would have allowed the team to spread the salary-cap hit over two years.

Although those financial ramifications weren't appealing to the Browns, they could have managed them had they concluded a Garrett trade would have been best for the club's big-picture outlook.

Instead, the Browns have Garrett under contract through the 2030 season. The two sides have made up and moved on. Garrett spoke as if he hopes similar healing occurs between him and fans turned off by his approach to business. Again, the drama was unnecessary.

“Just like family, sometimes you fight, and you have to go through things, you have to build through adversity,” Garrett said. “We'll get through this, and we'll come out right on the other side.”

If the Browns somehow finally draft a long-term solution at quarterback in late April, they'll come out right on the other side, too. The Berry-Stefanski regime would look brilliant for refusing to embrace a rebuild. And the team would suddenly be much closer to contending than Garrett anticipated when he essentially launched a “Free Myles” campaign.

But if the Browns remain in the quarterback wilderness beyond this offseason, they may eventually look back and wonder whether they should have granted Garrett's trade request in an effort to maximize assets in an eternal quest to land a legitimate answer at football's most important position.

Defensive end isn't it.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Myles Garrett says he has no regrets, and Browns reject rebuild

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