There was nothing shocking on Thursday night in San Francisco at NFL honorswhere Garrett was named the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year. This isn’t surprising considering the five-time All-Pro set a new NFL single-season record with 23 sacks.
It also wouldn’t be stunning to learn that Garrett was shocked, apparently, that Schwartz, upset about not being hired as the Browns’ head coach, will no longer be Cleveland’s DC.
“We kept Myles on the side [of] process through,” Berry said Tuesday of Garrett being on board with Monken’s hiring and his plan going forward. “So obviously he knew the news before all of you did. So Myles is a great team player and I’m not worried about that.”
In those three seasons with Schwartz, Garrett has been a pro bowler and first team pro every year, compiling 51 sacks. Garrett already has elite passing before Schwartz’s arrival and is now considered one of the best players in the game regardless of position.
He’s also paid as such, with a contract averaging $40 million per season with $88 million guaranteed. Garrett received his most recent extension last season after his aforementioned trade request.
Monken was clear Tuesday that with or without Schwartz, he wants to keep the Browns’ defense as structured as it is.
Ownership and the front office have also been clear so far that they see no reason to believe that the face of the Browns franchise is unhappy to the point that he wants out of town – as he did a year ago.