Analyst Calls Browns Key Offseason Move ‘A Massive Mistake’
The Cleveland Browns made a major move this offseason, but one analyst isn’t a fan of it.
After another disappointing season, Cleveland made a big move to re-sign star pass rusher Myles Garrett. Garrett has requested a trade, but the Browns ended up giving him a four-year, $160 million contract with over $123 million guaranteed.
Although Garrett is one of the top pass rushers in the NFL, Browns analyst Daryl Ruiter called the extension a massive mistake.
“I think the biggest mistake the Browns made was extending Myles,” Ruiter said on 92.3 The Fan. “I think that was a massive mistake on their end, I understand why they did it. You don’t want to be the organization that trades a future Hall of Famer, I get that. How competitive are you with Myles right now? You have a future Hall of Famer that’s doing record-breaking things, and you’re non-competitive. That’s why it was a bad decision for them to extend Myles. They should’ve traded him.”
As Ruiter points out, despite Garrett being dominant, the Browns still aren’t winning games, so he thought general manager Andrew Berry should have traded Garrett.
Had the Browns traded Garrett, Cleveland likely would’ve been able to acquire multiple draft picks, including first-rounders and perhaps some impact NFL players, which is why Ruiter called the extension a massive mistake.
Browns Send Message to Garrett After Outburst
During Cleveland’s blowout loss to the New England Patriots in Week 8, Garrett had another dominant game.
The star pass rusher recorded 5 sacks and a forced fumble in a dominant game. But, despite his performance, the Browns were getting blown out when Garrett slammed his helmet on the sideline in frustration.
Following the loss, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski responded to Garrett’s frustration.
“We’re all frustrated,” Stefanski said postgame. “Obviously, in those moments, we want to make sure it doesn’t get the best of us. But with that frustration comes a resolve, and I know Myles and I know him as a leader, I know the leaders in this football team will show that mental, will show that resolve.”
Garrett, meanwhile, said he was frustrated that he wasn’t on the field at that point in the game, regardless of the score.
“Frustrated,” he said. “I want to win. No matter how much time is on the clock, they got their starters in, there’s a chance we can win, I want to be a part of that. I don’t care how dire the situation looks. I want to try to make something happen, so I hate coming out in a situation, I hate that kind of inevitability. And not being able to do anything about it.”
Stefanski Hopeful Team Turns it Around
Heading into the Browns’ bye week, Stefanski said the goal is to start winning.
The head coach is also frustrated as Garrett is, but he’s confident the team can turn it around.
“I think it’s really so specific to all of us. We know we have a job to do – the fun in this business is winning, so, there’s the frustration that comes with losing a game, is very real. But how you channel that and how you, like you said, use it as fuel moving forward, I think is really important,” Stefanski concluded.
The Browns will go on the road to play the New York Jets in Week 10 after their bye.
What Marcus Mariota said after Commanders lost to Chiefs
Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota is disappointed after the team's 28-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football.
Mariota and the Commanders had chances to make an impact during the game, but it never materialized into scoring opportunities. Mariota spoke after the game about why those chances to score were never executed properly.
“We’ve got to clean those up. I feel like we’ve moved the ball well throughout the season. It’s getting to that point, the fringe area, where whether it’s a penalty, a turnover, it just stalls and kills drives. It’s unfortunate. We’ve got to look at the tape and figure out ways to get better. That is definitely something we have to face," Mariota said postgame.
Commanders fight, but it's not enough vs. Chiefs
Mariota was impressed with the Commanders' effort, but the execution of the game plan was not up to par against a Chiefs team that's been in the last three Super Bowls.
“I thought we came out well. I thought our guys battled. At the end of the day, when you’re not converting drives against this type of team, it’s tough because they’ll get going. I thought our defense did a great job holding them off and making plays, creating turnovers. We just didn’t do our part on offense," Mariota said.
Mariota also offered some praise to the Chiefs defense for shutting the Commanders out in the second half.
“No, they did a good job. We made a couple of third downs but for the most part, we didn’t execute. I took a bad sack, should’ve just thrown the ball away and given us a chance to maybe go for it on fourth. You’ve got to give credit to them. They played well in the second half," Mariota said of the Chiefs.
When playing the Chiefs, teams have to be diligent for 60 minutes. If they aren't, the Chiefs will expose their opponent, which is what happened against the Commanders.
While Washington played well in the first half, the Commanders needed to keep that going in the final 30 minutes to have a chance to beat the Chiefs. That lesson will come into play for the rest of the season as they see their margin for error running thin.
