From the outside, fans and media can weigh in on the absence of Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett from the opening of voluntary OTAs this week. It’s not a great look, certainly, to have the best player on the team not present at a time when the team–coming off eight total wins in the past two seasons–could use on-field leadership. It’s also not a great look when your best player has not yet met the new coach that was hired four months ago, as Todd Monken conceded on Wednesday.
Garrett, of course, broke the all-time single-season NFL sack record in 2025, recording 23.0 and winning a second Defensive Player of the Year award in the process. He’s no one-trick pony, either–he is among the best edge defenders in the league at shutting down the run game, making him a rare dual threat and arguably the best non-quarterback in the NFL. Heck, he might well be the best player in the NFL, quarterbacks included.
Therefore, it’s hard to argue with Garrett skipping out on a voluntary segment of Cleveland’s offseason. But because the Browns are somewhat in need of a strong leader in Barea these days, his absence is being felt a bit more acutely.
Mason Graham: Myles Garrett Is a ‘Different Individual’
You won’t hear that complaint against Garrett from teammates, though. As nice as it might be to have Garrett on the field with the team in this first set of OTAs–there will be two more that follow before mandatory minicamp– the Browns themselves are not complaining.
Second-year star lineman Mason Graham was asked about Garrett on Wednesday. “He’s the best player in the NFL so I am not taking anything away from him,” Graham said. “Him not showing up, I know he has got his own life. He’s just a different individual but I know, come time on Sunday, he is going to be ready to work.”
Browns Weighing Myles Garrett Future?
One of the sidelights of the Myles Garrett situation for the Browns, though, is that the team could well be weighing what to do with him in the future. Cleveland is rebuilding with youth, and at age 30, Garrett does not quite fit the timeline for when the Browns figure to start maturing into a consistent playoff team.
There was also the odd tweak to Garrett’s contract back in March, which shifted bonus money timing in such a way to make Garrett easier to trade. The Browns insist that the move was not meaningful, but the question persists–if it is not meaningful, why do it?
Browns Had Stellar Defensive Front in 2025
Graham, for his part, played very well as a rookie after having been picked at No. 5 by the Browns in last year’s draft. He was rated the No. 33 defensive lineman in the league (out of 122) by Pro Football Focus, easily the best rating of any rookie at his position. He benefited from the talent around him, no doubt, and not only Garrett–Maliek Collins had a great year on the line and Alex Wright was effective as a pass-rusher.
Collins injured his quad against the 49ers in Week 13, though, and missed the rest of the year. That gave Graham, who was playing through a broken rib, some different looks down the stretch.
He explained: “I would say they paid more attention to Maliek and Myles when they were both in and it was me and Alex. But I feel like when Maliek went down it was me and Myles and I kind of took on that role. But we are just trying to rush four as one, we are trying to work together as a rush and I am looking forward to Maliek coming back. I’ve been talking to him, I know he is getting better.”
Browns Star Weighs in on ‘Different’ Myles Garrett Situation at OTAs