‘I’m not surprised’ – Exasperated Stephen A. Smith blames $230 million Cleveland Browns disaster for Myles Garrett trade demand

Myles Garrett wants out of Cleveland.

The star defensive end, who is the NFL‘s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, has requested a trade from the Browns after eight seasons.

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In a statement shared on Monday (February 3), Garrett cited a desire to challenge for the Super Bowl as the reason behind his decision.

“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,” he wrote.

“The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl.”

Garrett’s trade request ends months of speculation over his future, which ramped up in December when he made comments about wanting to know the team’s offseason plans, stating he was ‘not trying to rebuild’.

The Browns finished the 2024 season with a 3-14 record, bottom of the AFC North, and they are a far cry from the Super Bowl-challenging team that their star player wants to be on.

In fact, in his eight years in Cleveland, the Browns have only reached the playoffs twice.

And while Garrett has made his motivation for wanting to leave clear, Stephen A. Smith believes the blame for his trade demand falls at the feet of quarterback Deshaun Watson.

“I’m not surprised and I completely support Myles Garrett,” the ESPN analyst began, discussing the news on First Take.

“The Browns organization, they’ve been to the playoffs two times in the last five years. That’s the good news – and that’s really not that good.

“The real bad news is that they’ve been to the playoffs twice in the last 22, 23 years. This is a team that has not gotten it done.

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“The person that I blame the most unfortunately, respectfully, is Deshaun Watson.

“If Deshaun Watson had gone to Cleveland and balled the way he was capable, the way he showcased how he could ball when he was a Houston Texan, Myles Garrett would not be asking for this trade.

“He’s asking for this trade because he knows Cleveland struggles to find a quarterback. They’ve left it all on the shoulders of their defense.

“There doesn’t seem to be any relief or any help in sight and he wants to be in a winning situation.

“This ain’t about anything more than the fact that you’ve gotten suspect production from the quarterback position and he knows the chances of winning are slim to none.”

Cleveland bet big on Watson back in 2022 when they traded six draft picks, including three first-rounders, to acquire the quarterback from Houston.

The Browns also gave Watson a five-year, $230million contract upon arrival, the largest guaranteed deal in NFL history.

But their gamble has not paid off.

Watson has been average at best, and has played just 19 games across three seasons in Cleveland while being plagued by a string of well-documented off-field issues.

He has a 9-10 record as a Browns starter, and has thrown just 19 touchdowns for the franchise.

When the 29-year-old suffered an Achilles tear in Week 7 of 2024, the season-ending injury was cheered by some of his own fans inside Huntington Bank Field.

The struggles in Cleveland are clear for all to see, and it’s little surprise that a player of Garrett’s quality wants to try something new.

He is coming off his seventh straight double-digit sack season, and will transform any defense that he joins.

Garrett has also earned five straight Pro Bowl bids, and four career first-team All-Pro honors alongside his Defensive Player of the Year crown.

In 2025, he will be looking to add a Super Bowl to that impressive list.

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