Browns HC Todd Monken on Myles Garrett's absence: 'Myles will be ready'

Browns HC Todd Monken on Myles Garrett's absence: 'Myles will be ready' originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Does Myles Garrett want to leave the Cleveland Browns? In a February statement, Garrett demanded a trade because the team couldn't compete for a Super Bowl, hoping to join a contender.

Has the Browns' front office shown interest in trading him? No, GM Andrew Berry made it clear that Garrett isn't for sale, and they expect him to retire as a Brown.

"If we wanted to trade Myles, we wouldn't have needed to make a contract adjustment,” Berry said (h/t ESPN). “Myles is a career Brown. He is one of the faces of our organization."

Myles Garrett Defensive Player of the Year

Reportedly, the contract adjustment fueled trade rumors. The Browns modified the language in Garrett's deal, pushing the date to exercise option bonuses seven days before the regular season.

Garrett skipped the Cleveland Browns' voluntary offseason program, which started Tuesday at their training facility in Berea, Ohio. He's done this before amid similar rumors and situations. Skipping voluntary workouts has helped him maximize offseason rest, yielding strong results: this season, he recorded 23 sacks and broke Michael Strahan's single-season sack record.

The star edge rusher played all 17 games in 2024 despite multiple injuries, still managing 14 sacks.

"I don't see a time where I would not want Myles Garrett part of our team,” Monken said. “I don't — I can't even envision that, where I would not want Myles Garrett to be a Cleveland Brown."

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Todd Monken's take on Myles Garrett's absence?

On Tuesday, head coach Todd Monken addressed the defensive star's absence in a press conference. Per Monken, Garrett will be ready for the season despite missing the start of voluntary workouts.

"I've said before, this is voluntary for our players to be here," Monken said. "I think if you asked every coach in the NFL, what they like every player to be there, that of course I think there's certain parts of what we do from a connection standpoint, that I think is important to be here. From a schematic standpoint, from a work standpoint, not so much. And it is our job to make it to where the guys want to be here.

“I mean, not just by the job, but by their development, by the camaraderie, being part of a team. Part of a team since I've been five years old. There's nothing like it. I wouldn't miss it because that's me. That's how I'm wired. But it is voluntary. Myles will be ready. I'm not worried about Myles.”

If he gets a healthy, issue-free start to training camp, Garrett's next pursuit could be chasing 25 sacks.

"Been waiting on this my whole life, my whole football career,” Garrett said. “I knew I had it in me. I wanted that 25 [sacks]."

The two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year has a career total of 125.5 sacks. His season stats include 43 solo tackles, 33 tackles for loss, and 39 QB hits.

Upcoming event: Voluntary veteran minicamp, Tuesday, April 21–Thursday, April 23, in Cleveland, Ohio.

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