Joe Thomas sees the biggest test for Todd Monken right where Browns football has been strongest for years: on defense.
Cleveland spent a long stretch leaning on a unit that could carry its weight while the offense struggled to keep pace. The Browns had a stout defense and a bottom-feeding offense, and Kevin Stefanski couldn’t solve that problem no matter who was under center or how much help was around him. Jim Schwartz’s group, meanwhile, stayed among the league’s best.
That backdrop is why Thomas believes Monken is walking into a tougher situation now that Myles Garrett is gone. With Garrett having been traded to the Rams on June 1, the standard on defense does not get any lower just because the league’s top defender is no longer in the building.
During a recent appearance on 92.3 The Fan, Thomas put it plainly:
"It's the defense. [Todd Monken] lost the greatest defensive player in the history of football when Myles Garrett was traded. You got a new defensive coordinator, a lot of young, talented players,"
Thomas said. "The defense, because they were so good the last several years, the expectations are higher. There's gonna be a challenge to meet expectations of seasons past on defense."
Monken, though, has made it clear he doesn’t want Cleveland defined only by what happens on that side of the ball.
Since the Garrett trade, the atmosphere around the Browns has been calmer than many expected. Spring workouts brought mostly positive reports, and players didn’t sound rattled by Garrett’s exit. His name has barely come up in Berea since the deal.
Monken also wasted no time signaling that the Browns weren’t planning to fold this season. When the trade was announced, he said the team would not tank and voiced immediate enthusiasm about adding Jared Verse, the young pass rusher who should at least help keep the defense in the mix.
Even if Cleveland slips some on defense under new coordinator Mike Rutenberg, that doesn’t automatically spell disaster. Garrett’s brilliance didn’t stop the Browns from winning only eight games over the last two years, and the offense kept dragging the team down.
That’s why Monken’s best path forward may be on offense, not defense. If he can get that side moving, it will matter far more than replacing the production of a pass rusher who can pile up 20-plus sacks in a season. A defense can only do so much when the offense can’t stay on the field.
In that sense, losing Garrett might even give Monken a little room to breathe. The pressure from fans and the media figures to be lighter without a franchise player like that in the building, and one of the biggest offseason storylines is now gone.
Browns fans will always have reason to appreciate what Garrett did for the franchise, and he’ll get his due every time he comes back to Northeast Ohio. But for Cleveland, the next chapter has already started.
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