Everyone knows that during the offseason, Myles Garrett had one foot out the door with the Cleveland Browns. It was hard to imagine he’d be present at this stage of training camp, as his ambitions seemed elsewhere. But the franchise managed to convince him, he had a change of heart, and now he’s carrying sky-high expectations.
The 2023 Defensive Player of the Year didn’t hesitate to inform the team in February that he wanted a trade, stating during Super Bowl week that he’d rather be competing for a ring and leveling several criticisms at the franchise.
But everything changed in an instant.
A new contract and now he’s all-in with the Cleveland Browns
Myles Garrett‘s perspective shifted from believing the team wasn’t good enough to compete to wanting to win a Super Bowl with the franchise.
Garrett secured a massive four-year, $160 million contract, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL, and he’s now reporting to the Browns‘ training camp.
“I mean, I expect to get to the Super Bowl,” Garrett asserted on Wednesday. “That’s our expectation every year. I expect to run back to Defensive Player of the Year, so keeping both those things in mind, I have to be the very best player I can be every single day, whether we’re practicing or playing. As soon as I step in the building, I have to be the best version of myself and the best leader I can possibly be.”
These aren’t outlandish statements. In fact, that’s always been Garrett‘s goal throughout his career, and he’s precisely the kind of player who can bring the Browns closer to achieving it.
“I have such high expectations for the team because I have such high expectations for myself,” the eight-year veteran said. “The team’s going to go as I go, I’m going to try to be the driving factor behind that and create a standard in which everyone has to chase every single day.”
However, outside the organization, the outlook isn’t as optimistic. Cleveland‘s projected win total in betting markets is around 5.5 or fewer. Other predictions have the team earning the first overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft, which isn’t surprising given their three-win season last year.
“I expect to bounce back from last year myself and defensively and as a team so the standard doesn’t change or at least it doesn’t lower, it just raises them, improves,” Garrett said. “I think we have guys who are older, understand both sides of the coin. Come from a really good season, come from a really bad season. It can happen just like that, so you’ve got to take that into account every single day when you’re training and getting to know your guys. The margins for this game are very thin.”
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