There wasn’t much that went right for the Cleveland Browns in 2025, but maybe the only thing that did was No. 95. While the calendar year got underway with Myles Garrett demanding a trade out of Cleveland, saying he wants to play for championships, that storm passed once the Browns rejected his demand and instead made him the highest paid defensive player in the history of the NFL, at four years and $160 million.
When the season started, the Browns offense was clearly an albatross, but what was clear was that the defense as a whole had been uplifted and was one of the best units–if not the best–in the NFL. And it all started with Garrett.
Garrett came out with four sacks in his first three games of the year, but really had a breakthrough with an impressive five-sack showing against the Patriots in New England in Week 8. It was that performance that vaulted him into a discussion on one of the toughest records in the NFL–the single-season sack record. And though it took him a while late in the season, Garrett got a sack in the final game of the season to finish with 23.0, breaking the old record held by Michael Strahan of the Giants and TJ Watt of the Steelers, at 22.5.
Myles Garrett Keeps Collecting Accolades
Now comes news that Garrett–to no one’s surprise–has been named the PFWA Defensive Player of the Year for 2025. That announcement came from the Browns on Wednesday afternoon.
From the team release: “The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) announced Garrett as their 2025 Defensive Player of the Year on Wednesday. This is the second time Garrett has won the award from the PFWA, first earning the honor in 2023. He also has both Browns’ honors since the award was instituted in 1992 and is the 14th defensive end to earn the PFWA Defensive Player of the Year honor.”
Garrett has already been named a first-team All-Pro for the fifth time in the past six years, and in addition to the sack mark, set a personal record with 39 quarterback hits and a league-high 33 tackles for a loss. He finished with 60 tackles and 43 solo tackles, also both career highs.
At Pro Football Focus, Garrett was graded with a 93.3 in the pass rush, No. 1 in the NFL.
Browns Were Just 5-12 This Season
For Garrett, though, there was a bittersweet quality to the accomplishments of 2025, as he was happy for the individual awards but disappointed that the Browns struggled as badly as they did, with a 5-12 record. Each week, it seemed, Garrett would be asked about the frustration that comes with putting for personal excellence amid such poor team performance.
Garrett consistently made clear that the Browns had to hold themselves to a standard no matter what, and certainly, the jubilant final two wins of the season, over the Steelers and Bengals, reflected that. He did not want opponents thinking the Browns were a cakewalk.
“I don’t want them to think we’re just going to be an easy victory or someone they can just walk over,” Garrett said. “And then have to think about they’ve got to earn everything they get and we’re coming in to win just like they are. So, I don’t care what the weather is, I don’t care what the records are. You gotta go and get it every Sunday.”
Browns Make Major Announcement on Myles Garrett