CLEVELAND, Ohio (TheOBR.com) Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
There is skullduggery afoot, my friend. Things just aren’t adding up. Then again, I’m a webdork who has run a Cleveland Browns site for 25 years – my advanced age makes me paranoid and prone to hallucinations. Fortunately, my age and lifestyle also make me laser-focused on (squirrel!!) issues just like this one. I won’t let go of this until something distracts me. Which could happen any second now, so I need to write quickly.
Adam Schefter and Mary Kay Cabot reported yesterday that the Browns are denying any plans to trade Myles Garrett, none of which explains why they redid his contract in a way that makes a trade easier and not much else. I have no doubt that both reporters spoke with someone in the Browns organization and are relaying exactly what they were told. Schefter was particularly adamant about how adamant the Browns were about not considering trades.
But, still, the Browns did the new contract, and that invites doubt and speculation, particularly from anyone who has closely watched this team behave for, say, 25 years. So, the speculative articles are out there, guessing where Garrett will wind up and grabbing the clicks. Over The Cap and the OBR’s Jack Duffin are both skeptical of the team’s denials, saying that the deal dramatically reduces the trade penalty, but doesn’t do much else.
The timing is worth noting. Over the Cap breaks down the contract language change, while the move could simply be cap management — or it could be setting the table for something bigger. Our own piece today takes a hard look at how the Browns could even begin to replace Garrett and Denzel Ward if it came to that — spoiler alert: there is no easy answer.
This all leaves me very confused. Fortunately, my dog and I are now focused on squirrels, where we have differing opinions on how appropriate it is to have them in our yard. I’m indifferent; she’s angrily annoyed. Adamant about it, even.
ALSO IN THE NEWS:
The Browns stadium project just got more expensive. The total cost has grown to $2.6 billion in real American dollars, and the Haslam family has announced it’s increasing its personal investment to $1.755 billion to cover costs beyond the public funding commitment. Can you even grasp how much beef jerky Pilot Flying J had to sell to get that money to the Haslams? Mind-boggling. That’s like my entire yard piled twenty feet high in beef jerky, which is actually sort of a fantasy of mine. At any rate, that’s a significant commitment from ownership and keeps the lakefront project on track.
Also, the Browns don’t have to worry about Ty Simpson this time around in the draft, since they have Shedeur Sanders. That comes from Mel Kiper, Jr, who, if nothing else, is consistent. Kiper went ballistic as Sanders slipped to the fifth round last year, and he’s not moved an inch, despite the available evidence. One has to give credit to Kiper for sticking to his guns despite Sanders’ uninspiring performance late last season. I doubt anyone is hoping more for Sanders’ success in 2026 than Kiper. We’ll keep track of things like that here in this space, which translates to making fun of Kiper if Sanders faceplants this year. It’s not much of a plan, but it’s the best I’ve got.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
OBR GOODIES
OBR VIDEO
– Haslams increase personal investment to $1.755 billion for Browns stadium project
OBR ARTICLES
– How The Cleveland Browns Could Replace Myles Garrett & Denzel Ward
– Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 03/26/26: Changing the Rules Because of the Rules
– Germie Bernard has Valuable Skill Set; A Fit for the Cleveland Browns?
FROM THE FORUMS
– 10-position value/discrepancy in 2026 Draft?
– Lane/Myles Garrett situation question
– Draft Quality Question with Berry
– All Insiders- Draft Position Priority
– All Insiders- Draft Position Priority (pg. 2)
– Season ticket deadline tomorrow
– OT: Credit Card Fraud Stories
– LiveWire Thread for 3/26 – Twitter, Video, Articles
– CBS Sports Josh Edwards Mock Draft (DREAM DRAFT)
– What’s Your Favorite Scary Movie
THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond…
– Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood gets first-ever YouTube channel 25 years after final show aired
– Scientists Were Wrong About How Fast Solar Panels Degrade – They May Last Twice as Long
Even in these difficult days, there’s no stopping the late, beloved Mister Rogers, who is now available on YouTube for the first time. You can’t stop nice guys. Actually, you can, but probably not that one.
And we have some good news about green energy, if you’re enthusiastic about such things. Which I am. I’m tired of making energy by burning stuff. We’ve been burning stuff all along as a species, and we are going to need all kinds of new energy to power data centers to replace ourselves, so we might as well use every power source we can so we can be jobless with less smoke in the air.
WRAPPING UP
When not being indifferent about small mammals,, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
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