![\"Cleveland](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2253827923-e1775208747147.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett.<\/p>\n
The Cleveland Browns<\/a> begin their voluntary offseason program on April 7, and their best player probably won\u2019t be there.<\/p>\n Owner Jimmy Haslam confirmed at the NFL<\/a> owners meetings in Phoenix that the team does not expect two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to report when veteran players arrive in Berea.<\/p>\n \u201cWe spent a lot of time with Myles the day after the season,\u201d Haslam said<\/a>. \u201cWe had a great conversation about the offseason, the direction of the team, what we were looking for, et cetera. And AB talks to Myles regularly. So I doubt Myles is there on April 7, OK?<\/p>\n \u201cBut Myles hasn\u2019t shown the need to be there and we have a new defensive coordinator, but we\u2019re basically going to run the same defense. So I think Myles will be ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n Garrett is a team captain and the cornerstone of the Browns\u2019 defense, making his absence at the start of the voluntary program noteworthy under any circumstances. Even if it\u2019s become somewhat routine, it carries added weight amid a coaching transition and lingering trade speculation<\/a>.<\/p>\n A Concerning Communication Gap<\/p>\n The apparent disconnect between Garrett and Cleveland\u2019s new leadership has been a storyline this offseason. NFL insider Benjamin Allbright noted that the Browns had been unable to reach Garrett<\/a> since the team hired Todd Monken and parted ways with defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.<\/p>\n Garrett acknowledged he had not yet spoken with Monken<\/a> face-to-face. New defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg said much the same at his introductory press conference<\/a>. Garrett was close with Schwartz, who resigned after being passed over for the head coaching job.<\/p>\n Haslam acknowledged the limited contact but downplayed it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe anticipate Myles fully buying in,\u201d he said. \u201cNow let me say, it\u2019s not unusual for Myles not to be in real close contact with us in the offseason. So he\u2019s not the kind of guy that\u2019s there all the time and calls you every week. That\u2019s just different styles. It\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Myles Garrett Trade Rumors Persist<\/p>\n Layered on top of the communication questions is the trade speculation that has followed Garrett this offseason. The Browns recently reworked his contract<\/a> to push back option bonuses and make him easier to move, setting off a fresh round of rumors<\/a>. Browns general manager Andrew Berry moved quickly to shut that down.<\/p>\n \u201cMyles is a career Brown,\u201d Berry said<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the faces of our organization. I think we\u2019ve been very clear both past and present in terms of our goals. I understand all the questions. I\u2019ll be honest, I don\u2019t really want to waste a ton more breath on the topic.\u201d<\/p>\n Haslam echoed that sentiment.<\/p>\n \u201cGuys like Myles Garrett do not come along very much,\u201d he said. \u201cThey just don\u2019t. They don\u2019t come along. He is a unicorn. And Myles is an integral part of what we do at the Cleveland Browns.\u201d<\/p>\n Garrett also holds a no-trade clause, meaning any deal would require his blessing. There\u2019s no indication he\u2019s pushing for one.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJ.R. DeGroote<\/a> JR DeGroote is a staff writer for Heavy.com, where he has covered the NFL, NBA, and trending sports stories since 2019. His work focuses on some of the most passionate fanbases in sports, including reporting on the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Lakers. More about J.R. DeGroote<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Browns\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett. The Cleveland Browns begin their voluntary offseason program on April 7, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":851066,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,85,54,2337,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-851065","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-browns","8":"tag-browns","9":"tag-cleveland","10":"tag-cleveland-browns","11":"tag-clevelandbrowns","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116340165150348173","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}