In February, Myles Garrett shocked the football world by requesting a trade from the Cleveland Browns. Garrett, the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year and DPOY runner-up in 2024, wants the chance to play for a competitor... and who could blame him? This comes on the heels of looming market-setting contract extensions for Garrett, Micah Parsons, and Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt.
Maxx Crosby was the first to reset the market when he earned a lucrative extension that included $35.5 million in new average annual earnings. Now, the Steelers, Browns, and Cowboys are left negotiating with their superstar edge rushers, knowing the price tag just went up.
But if a franchise were to write a book on what not to do when negotiating with your best player, it's the Cleveland Browns.
After striking gold on Garrett with the first overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, you'd think the Browns would do everything in their power to appease perennial All-Pro and likely future Hall of Fame edge rusher. Instead, they've done just the opposite.
Since the trade request, relationships between Garrett and the Browns have gone from bad to worse. On Friday, NFL Insider Tom Pelissero reported that Garrett requested to meet with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam to hash things out, but Haslam declined the request.
Really? That's your response? Your best player requests a meeting to work toward a solution, and you want no part of it? The Pittsburgh Steelers should take notes on what not to do with Watt.
Pittsburgh Steelers must learn from Myles Garrett fiasco when handling negotiations with T.J. Watt
It's hard to draw it up much more ugly than things have played out for the Cleveland Browns so far, and every one of their fans has a right to be upset with how their team has handled this situation. Instead of aiming to please their franchise player—and quite frankly one of the best players in the history of their sad organization—the Browns won't even meet with Garrett.
It feels as if Garrett and the Browns are heading for an ugly divorce, and they have nobody to blame but themselves.
The Steelers are obviously in a different situation with T.J. Watt. Despite never winning a playoff game, Watt insists that he wants to be part of a winning organization in Pittsburgh and compete for a Super Bowl. That already gives the Steelers an advantage. However, they need to make sure it stays that way.
To make sure their franchise player is satisfied, Omar Khan and the front office need to land an impressive haul in free agency and the NFL Draft so Watt—who turns 31 in October—actually has a chance to win a playoff game in the final stages of his career.
This also includes giving him his bag. Though it's going to leave a dent in Pittsburgh's salary cap space down the road, the Pittsburgh Steelers can't disgruntle Watt by dragging their toes in contract negotiations. They need to get this taken care of so Watt can focus on football and getting back into DPOY form.
I don't see a world where T.J. Watt requests a trade from the Steelers. But to ensure it never even crosses his mind, Pittsburgh needs to learn from the Myles Garrett fiasco to avoid running into a similar problem.