Browns owner Jimmy Haslam refuses meeting with Myles Garrett amid trade request stalemate, per report

Both Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns are dug in on their respective positions, with Garrett wanting a trade out of Cleveland and the organization steadfastly refusing to even discuss it. 

Amid the stalemate, Garrett requested to meet with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, per NFL Media, but Haslam declined the request. According to Cleveland.com, Haslam told Garrett that he has to speak with general manager Andrew Berry about the situation instead.

Garrett has been adamant that he wants a trade to a team that is a potential Super Bowl contender, which the Browns are obviously not.

“While I’ve loved calling this city my home, my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won’t allow me to be complacent,” Garrett said when he announced his trade request. “The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl.” 

Meanwhile, Berry has been just as adamant that the team will not honor Garrett’s request. “We understand the trade costs and everything, but our stance really has not changed,” Berry said. “We can’t imagine a situation where not having Myles in this organization is best for the Browns.”

Despite rumors that the trade request was a precursor for a contract-extension push, Garrett has also reportedly declined to discuss an extension with the Browns. He has two years left on the five-year, $125 million contract extension he signed back in 2020, and is set to draw bare-minimum base salaries of $1.26 million and $1.3 million over those two seasons. He does have some bonus money coming his way, but he’ll still likely be looking for a new contract upon being traded to a new team. He should break the bank if and when that happens, as he remains arguably the best defensive player in all of football.