Former GM proposes absurd, laughable Myles Garrett trade

This is a rare case where both teams hang up the phone laughing

No, the Cleveland Browns are not trading perennial All-Pro and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett at the NFL trade deadline.

That did not stop former NFL general manager (with the New York Jets) Mike Tannebaum from proposing one of the most absurd trades involving Garrett. On “Get Up,” Tannebaum proposed that the Detroit Lions give up three first-round picks, two second-round picks, and former first-round running back Jahmyr Gibbs to the Browns to acquire Garrett’s services.

Tannebaum even got a fellow panelist and former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark to walk off stage due to the absurdity of the trade proposal.

Needless to say, the minority owner in the Cleveland Cavaliers and an invested member of the community will not request out of Cleveland, and the Browns will not trade him.

Myles Garrett turns lawn into dystopian QB graveyard for Halloween

Myles Garrett’s Halloween quarterback graveyard was set in the Terminator’s dystopian future this year

Myles Garrett’s Halloween quarterback graveyard got a dystopian twist this year. Garrett goes all out for the holiday, and Halloween allows him to play a monster more terrifying than himself. Garrett walked into Huntington Bank Field dressed as the Terminator ahead of the game against the Baltimore Ravens. Arnold Schwarzenegger complimented the costume on X. 

Garrett kept the Terminator theme running. He decorated his lawn to be part of the post-apocalyptic future. The defensive end included a wrecked vehicle — not the vehicle wrecked in Garrett’s car crash from last season — and a model Tesla Cybertruck.

Garrett’s graveyard included the skeletal remains of some of the best quarterbacks Garrett has faced. The remains of Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen, and Trevor Lawrence are front and center. Newly minted rival quarterbacks Justin Fields and Russell Wilson are represented in their former uniforms. Former quarterback Tom Brady is still in the quarterback graveyard.

It’s good to see Browns players having fun after a horrendous season start. The team has over half a season left to make the playoffs. Hopefully, Garrett can add a few more quarterbacks to his graveyard during the playoff push. 

Bill Belichick selects three Browns stars on his midseason list

NFL Legend Bill Belichick selected LG Joel Bitonio, DE Myles Garrett, and CB Denzel Ward to his mid-season award list.

Bill Belichick selected his midseason All-Pro team on his podcast Thursday. The Coach’s Podcast is hosted by Belichick and former head coach Matt Patricia. The coaches were joined by former Browns’ front office executive Michael Lombardi to break down the best players this season. The group went over every offensive, defensive, and special teams position. 

Belichick selected three cornerstone pieces of the Browns’ franchise. Left guard Joel Bitonio, defensive end Myles Garrett, and cornerback Denzel Ward were at the top of the list. Unsurprisingly, no Browns players were selected for a Special Teams award. The three were brief in their complements.

Belichick admired Bitonio’s toughness this season when he kicked out to offensive tackle. The group acknowledged Garrett is the best defensive end in the NFL. Belichick believed Ward was the best cornerback before his injury. The group expressed their concern for Ward’s latest concussion.

The Browns have built up a talented team of stars. After a disastrous season start, fans hope those stars can lead the team to the playoffs. They probably need a few other players to leap to superstar during the season. Hopefully, Belichick’s end-of-season list will feature a few more Browns players.

5 Browns players to watch vs. Chargers

The Browns look like a different team with Jameis Winston at quarterback, which should make for a solid Week 9 matchup against the Chargers.

It’s been a disappointing year for the Browns after they went 11-6 and made the postseason in 2023. The AFC North side has already matched its loss total from last year, as they are 2-6 through two months of the season.

The Browns did upset the Ravens last week though, and the offense looks completely different with Jameis Winston under center. With that, here are some players that the Chargers will have to keep an eye on this upcoming weekend.

RB Nick Chubb

One of the best running backs in the league when healthy, Chubb returned to action in Week 7 after a gruesome knee injury last year. In his first two games of the year, he’s ran for 74 yards and a touchdown on 27 attempts. After just 30 snaps in his season debut, he ramped up to playing 60% of the team’s offensive snaps in Week 8. Expect that number to continue to increase, and the Chargers defense must contain them if they want to win this game.

TE David Njoku

After the best season of his career in 2023, Njoku is rounding back into that form over the last few weeks. In the last two games, he’s caught 15 passes for 137 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He’s one of the best tight ends in the NFL when healthy and with Winston now at quarterback, he has someone that can get him the ball. Slowing Njoku down should be the Chargers’ #1 priority in the passing game.

RT Jack Conklin

The trenches will be where this game will be won on both sides of the ball. Conklin will likely face Khalil Mack most of the game, and that will be the matchup of the day. Mack continues to be an elite edge rusher for Los Angeles, and Conklin has been solid in 2024.

EDGE Za’Darius Smith

While Myles Garrett gets all of the attention, Smith is still quite the player at 32 years old. The Chargers’ elite offensive tackle duo will have their hands full on Sunday with the Browns pass rush. In eight games this season, the three-time Pro Bowler has 5.0 sacks in addition to five tackles for loss. Smith is on pace for the fourth double-digit sack campaign of his career.

S Juan Thornhill

The former Chiefs safety has helped solidify the safety position for the Browns in 2024. He’s played in just three games as he dealt with a calf injury for awhile, but he’s now back in the lineup. Albeit in limited action, Thornhill has been highly effective against the run this season. We’ll see what kind of impact he has against J.K. Dobbins and the Chargers’ rushing attack.

Key things to know about Chargers’ Week 9 opponent: Browns

Here are some important things to know about the Browns ahead of the Week 9 matchup with the Chargers.

The Chargers are on the road to face the Browns on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 11:00 a.m. PT.

To get you prepped for the Week 9 bout, here are five key things to know about Los Angeles’ opponent ahead of the matchup.

How things are going…

The Browns are 2-6 on the season. Cleveland is coming off a 29-24 win over the Ravens. Before that, they had lost five straight games.

Jameis provides a spark

Deshaun Watson went down with a season-ending Achilles injury, and Winston got the start in Week 8 against the Ravens. The veteran journeyman stepped up in a big way, completing 27 of 41 passes for 334 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. His performance was a much-needed boost for a struggling offense. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Winston will continue to start at quarterback.

Stalled on the ground

The Browns’ rushing offense hasn’t been anything to write home about. Nick Chubb, who suffered a gruesome injury last season, is back in the fold. Slowly working his way back, Chubb has carried the ball 27 times for 74 yards and a touchdown in his two games. Overall, Cleveland is 27th in rushing, averaging only 92.5 yards per carry.

Middle-of-the-pack defense

The Browns rank 18th in points allowed (23.3 ppg), 12th against the pass (200.6 yards per game) and 18th against the run (125.9 ypg). Cleveland could be without a couple of defensive starters. Cornerback Denzel Ward is in concussion protocol. Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is out with a neck injury. Jordan Hicks has been out the last three of four contests with an elbow/triceps injury.

Look out for…

Edge rushers Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith. Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt have been lights out this season, and they must continue to play at a high level against two premier pass rushers. Garrett and Smith have 36 and 24 quarterback pressures, respectively.

Ravens fared much better versus Myles Garrett than they did against Maxx Crosby

Look at how the Ravens OL performed against Garrett today, versus what happened earlier this season against Crosby, it’s a great litmus test

You can call the Baltimore Ravens offensive line Sarah Connor or Kyle Reese because they just handled the Terminator. In case you missed it, Cleveland Browns franchise defensive end Myles Garrett showed up to the game on Sunday dressed as The Terminator in honor of the coming Halloween holiday.

Garrett typically wins Halloween and set the bar for costumes even higher this year. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Garrett’s Terminator mask collaborated with Mike Castro of Madness FX, a former Hollywood costume design team.

But Garrett wasn’t precisely a nightmarishly fearsome machine on the field today, as he recorded only one tackle and just one QB hit. To his credit, his team won, and they pulled off a major upset, but Garrett was anything but dominant on Sunday.

While he did sporadically generate some pressure on Lamar Jackson, the reigning MVP was pretty much consistently able to elude him, and thus, Garrett didn’t make much of an impact on the stat sheet.

This is the polar opposite of what happened the last time the Ravens faced one of the league’s top pass rushers in their week two loss to Maxx Crosby and the Las Vegas Raiders.

On that day, Crosby stuffed the stat sheet, registering two sacks, four tackles for a loss, five solo tackles, one pass breakup, and two QB hits.

Crosby is having a better season than Garrett so far, and he may be surpassing him as the league’s top pass-rushing threat.

In a recent exclusive interview, the Raiders DE explained the secret to his success.

“Consistency is everything,” Crosby said in a one-on-one with RG. “It’s consistency at work. A lot of people can do it for a couple weeks, a couple months, but the ones that do it every day – no matter what part of the year it is – when you know most guys are on vacation, having drinks at the beach, doing their thing.

“It’s the guys that are putting in the work 24/7 and that’s who I am. That’s what I feel separates myself.”

It’s only natural to compare Garrett, who has led the league in sacks the past three seasons, to Crosby, who is third in this category, over that span. (Nick Bosa is second). And when you look at how the Ravens OL performed against Garrett today versus what happened earlier this season against Crosby, it’s a great litmus test.

It’s pretty apparent that some progress has been achieved in a position group with new starters at three of the five positions.

If you flash back to just after the season opener, when the O-line came under heavy criticism for what many Ravens fans felt was an underwhelming performance at Kansas City, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh preached patience with this retooled unit.

He said back on Sept. 9: “I think by the end of the season, you’re going to feel real good about our offensive line.”

Maybe his words are indeed proving prophetic now.

Injuries to key DBs highlight Ravens’ struggles with pass defense in loss to Browns

The Ravens entered this game dead last in the league in pass defense, so the Browns were well aware they could exploit the secondary.

Those who call the NFL a league of parity (not “parody,” OMG! That common malapropism drives me insane) could certainly point to today’s 29-24 win by the Cleveland Browns over the Baltimore Ravens.

Worst beat first in the AFC North division as Baltimore’s five-game win streak ended, as did Cleveland’s five-game losing skid.

Jameis Winston, who many football pundits have declared “washed” for some time, finished 27 of 41 passing for 334 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions while leading the Browns’ offense to heights that had not been seen under their franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson this season.

The Ravens entered this game dead last in the league in pass defense, so the Browns were well aware the secondary was a position group that could potentially be exploited.

And things worsened for Baltimore even before a single pass was thrown, as Nate Wiggins (illness), Marlon Humphrey (ankle), and T.J. Tampa (IR) were all ruled out.

More change was still to come in the defensive backs position group, as Marcus Williams was benched for being largely ineffective this season. The Ravens’ pass defense has been a persistent problem this year, but it’s not as bad as it may seem.

Baltimore is so stout against the run that opponents consistently find themselves having to rely on their passing attacks heavily. Also, the Ravens entered the day in first place, with a 5-2 record, and teams with winning records tend to find themselves ahead, and even well ahead, most of the time.

And what do you do when you’re behind, often well behind?  You pretty much have to pass.

So, while today was undoubtedly a shocking surprise defeat, all is not lost.

Ravens take a step back in shocking 29-24 loss to the Browns in Week 8

Ravens take a step back in shocking 29-24 loss to the Browns in Week 8

Baltimore has a penchant for blowing late fourth-quarter leads, but on Sunday, the Ravens took a step back toward the inconsistent unit that lost two straight to start the season.

In what can only be described as a shocking loss, the Cleveland Browns had their most impactful performance without Deshaun Watson in a 29-24 victory over first-place Baltimore in Week 8.

Lamar Jackson started the game 6-6 passing but finished 23-38 passing, for 289 yards (7.6 avg), two touchdowns, and zero interceptions with a 101.8 rating. Just like Baltimore had their five-game winning streak snapped, star running back Derrick Henry came back to earth, rushing for only 73 yards (6.6 avg) and one touchdown on 11 carries.

After missing two practices during the week with an ankle injury, second-year wideout Zay Flowers posted another 100-yard game, logging seven catches for 115 yards on the afternoon.

Zach Orr’s defense played without two starters at cornerback, and Jameis Winston carved up the Ravens. The former Heisman Trophy winner went 23-38 passing for 334 yards and three touchdowns.

The Browns took the lead when Winston threw a 38-yard touchdown pass — his third of the game — to Cedric Tillman with 59 seconds left as Cleveland erased weeks of frustration.

Baltimore will now look to regroup with Bo Nix and the upstart Broncos heading to M&T Bank Stadium in Week 9.

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Myles Garrett arrives for Ravens-Browns as ‘The Terminator’

Myles Garrett was ready for Halloween and the Ravens

The Cleveland Browns have had a scary season, winning one game.

On the week of Halloween, star defensive lineman decided to show up for the game on Sunday with the Baltimore Ravens in character.

Check out “The Terminator” outfit Garrett wore. He hopes to terminate Cleveland’s losing streak.

Myles Garrett rules Halloween once again with entrance to stadium

The Browns’ All-Pro defensive end’s love for Halloween knows no bounds

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett has always been one to participate in Halloween activities that include some of Hollywood’s most famous thrillers.

Many fans remember some of his previous stunts such as the very popular quarterback graveyard. The graveyard represented every NFL quarterback that the Browns star had sacked in that season. Garrett decided to participate this year by dressing up before the week 8 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. He arrived as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character from the 1984 hit “The Terminator.”

The Browns’ star defensive end arrived in a full Terminator costume that even included a state-of-the-art mask. The mask was completed with the help of a former Hollywood stage and costume design team, and Mike Castro of Madness FX. Myles Garrett has always aimed for Halloween characters that represent intimidation, fear, and determination.

The Browns’ defensive end will look to bring some of that energy against the Baltimore Ravens in their week 8 matchup today.