Cleveland Browns make Myles Garrett the highest paid defensive player in the NFL

Myles Garrett (right) (Erik Drost, Wikimedia Commons)

In one of the most controversial signings in recent National Football League history, Myles Garrett of Arlington, Texas, has signed a five-year contract worth $125 million with the Cleveland Browns according to Jason Owens of Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday.  Of the $125 million, a total of $100 million worth in the contract is guaranteed, which makes Garrett the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL.

So why is this particular contract controversial? Well, it is because Garrett was suspended during the 2019 National Football League regular season for throwing a helmet at Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph on November 14, 2019 in a 21-7 Cleveland win over Pittsburgh. Garrett was initially suspended 10 games for the incident. He was also fined over $45,000.

The question now exists why are the Browns giving a player, who committed one of the most violent acts on a football field in recent memory, a gigantic contract? From a public relations perspective, the contract offer simply does not look good.

The Browns obviously felt it was necessary to try and improve their defense at all cost. They gave up 393 points in 2019, including 165 points in their final six games without Garrett in the lineup. In the last three games of the 2019 NFL regular season, the Browns gave up a minimum of 31 points in each contest.

Garrett is in his third season with the Browns. In 2019, he had two forced fumbles, 10 sacks, 29 combined tackles (20 solo tackles and nine assisted tackles), 11 tackles for a loss, and 18 quarterback hits in only 10 games. This came after being a Pro Bowl defensive end in 2018 when he had three forced fumbles, three pass deflections, 13.5 sacks, 44 combined tackles (35 solo tackles and nine assisted tackles), 12 tackles for a loss, and 29 quarterback hits.