Cleveland Browns should honor Myles Garrett trade request, and let him take fans with him

I have always been a contract guy, meaning if you sign a contract you honor it. But even with two years left on his $125 million extension, Myles Garrett should be able to leave Cleveland and take anyone with him who wants to go, including the fans, because, frankly, does anyone still want to be with the Browns?

Cleveland is a loser organization, and I say that having grown up many moons ago as a diehard Browns fan. Red Right 88 nearly did me in. The Drive actually did. I died that day. Then came “Die Hard II, The Fumble,” when toothy John Elway ripped my heart out and stomped it for good measure. 

It actually was a relief when the Browns left for Baltimore. Did it hurt? Of course, but their exit was more of a dull ache than stabbing pain. And at least the orange and brown would not be able to set me up with hope only to dash it on the lakefront breakwall.

Art Modell is considered a monster for moving the team, and he slimeballed the departure for sure, but back then the Browns were at least respectable. Sometimes even admirable. 

Now? Two words. Deshaun Watson. Two more. Jimmy Haslam. If those names don’t make you wince, you’re probably a Steelers fan. Speaking of Pittsburgh, I remember thinking Haslam was just what the Browns needed when he bought the team in 2012. He had been a minority owner of the Steelers, and many of us figured if the Rooney family accepted him, he had to be OK. Little did we know the Rooneys blessed his departure for good reason.  

Haslam is a billionaire, which at the time he bought the team was a bonus more than what seems now to be a prerequisite of NFL ownership. He had money to spend, or burn. Turns out burn was more like it. The Browns are 54-110 (.329) under Haslam’s ownership. 

Jimmy owned Pilot Travel Centers, but last year sold his remaining 20% stake in the company, six years after the Feds began snooping into his business to investigate whether he ripped off gasoline customers. Interestingly enough, Haslam also gets accused of ripping off the Browns paying customers by putting an inferior product on the field. A case also could be made that the Browns committed fraud by having the audacity to charge for Johnny Manziel jerseys. 

But I digress. The point is the Cleveland Clowns, Charlie Browns or whatever name you want to call a team that defines haplessness, are not worthy of Garrett’s continued employment. And the big fella from Texas knows it.

Garrett, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, requested a trade Monday, explaining that “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. The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl.”

Myles Garrett ranks hgh among best Browns defenders

A perfect way to say you want out. And any Browns fan who blames him for asking to be traded hasn’t been paying attention to the ineptitude surrounding Haslam’s team. Cleveland – the franchise, not the city – does not deserve to keep Garrett, whose 102.5 sacks are the fifth most by any player in his first eight seasons. His 14 sacks this season ranked second in the NFL and made him the first player since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 to record 100 career sacks before turning 29. It is no stretch to suggest Garrett is the best defensive player in Browns history. 

Garrett said in December he did not want to go through another rebuild, which is where Cleveland is after going 3-14. Watson’s return at quarterback is uncertain, which is just as well, given the accused serial massage-ynist has been a $230 million guaranteed bust. With or without Watson, the Browns need a new QB, and Garrett is not willing to wait around for the second coming of Patrick Mahomes, or in the Browns’ case, given their bone-headed draft decisions, Pat Sajak.

Fifteen years ago I wrote a column urging Browns fans to jump ship because the Browns no longer deserved your allegiance. Go root for a winner for a change. That was before Haslam bought the team. Now? I wouldn’t blame Cleveland fans if they begged Garrett to take them with him wherever he goes. 

But wait, the Browns’ front office vows Garrett isn’t going anywhere. They refuse to trade him. We’ll see how long that lasts, but for now it feels unfair, signed contract or not, to not let No. 95 go free. He deserves better. The Browns don’t.

As for that other Haslam-owned team – the Crew

The Crew are not winning friends or influencing people to climb aboard the Black and Gold train.

The team just sold their best player, forward Cucho Hernandez to Real Betis of Spain’s La Liga in return for a transfer fee of about $16 million. That’s a lot of money, but as our Michael Arace writes, it will be nearly impossible to replace the 25-year-old with a player of similar talent.   

Hey, it’s a business. I get it, but this business is doing its best to make loyal fans feel like second-class cheerleaders. 

First, Crew majority owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam moved the team’s regular-season game against Messi Miami from Columbus to Cleveland, where on April 19 a city that lives for the Browns, loves the Guardians and occasionally looks up to notice the Cavs, will welcome … MLS. Certainly, a multitude of Crew fans from Columbus will make the trek. But why should they have to? (Answer: greed. Huntington Bank Field holds more than three times as many spectators as Lower.com Field).

And now Crew fans don’t even get to see Messi against Cucho. Or Cucho against anyone, except when streaming La Liga matches. Talk about a double whammy. Again, business is business. But it just feels like Crew fans are the ones to suffer, which is bad for business.    

Listening in

“It hurt my heart as a Mavs fan.” – Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, lamenting the trade that sent Luka Doncic from Dallas to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Off-topic

Some people watch the NFL RedZone, preferring to view  scoring highlights to sitting through an entire game. I get it, because I’m the same way with episodes of Seinfeld. I used to watch the entire show, but lately have switched to watching hilarious snippets on Instagram. Am I contributing to the short-attention-spanning of society? Guilty as charged. 

roller@dispatch.com

@rollerCD