The Cleveland Browns’ latest move has only made their decision to trade Myles Garrett look more puzzling.
On Tuesday, ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported that the Browns had reached a two-year, $62.2 million extension with Denzel Ward, a deal that makes him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history on a per-year basis. For Cleveland fans, it was a reason to celebrate the return of a five-time Pro Bowl defender. For everyone else, it raised the same question: what exactly is this team trying to do?
Ward has a strong reputation around the league, but he’s also coming off an uneven 2025 season. He was the fourth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and now the Browns have committed elite money to him at 29 years old.
That’s where the Garrett part of this gets even harder to square. Cleveland traded away Myles Garrett during the 2026 offseason, despite the fact that he’s the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, a two-time DPOY, a future Hall of Famer, and widely regarded as the best defensive player in football. If the Browns were willing to move on from that kind of centerpiece, why lock in Ward at a record-setting rate?
The problem is the lack of a clear lane. Cleveland should have gone one way or the other.
If the plan was to keep Garrett and try to win with defense this season, then extending Ward fits. If the idea was to tear it down and reset, then Ward should have been part of the sell-off too.
Instead, the Browns are stuck in the middle. They don’t have a respectable quarterback, and most of their offensive line has recently left or retired. Rebuilding from that point is going to take years, and by then Ward will be well into his 30s.
That’s why the Garrett trade and the Ward extension feel like they belong to two different teams with two different plans. Cleveland made a choice when it dealt Garrett, but paying Ward top-of-market money only muddies the direction even more.
For Pittsburgh Steelers fans watching from the outside, the whole thing is good for a laugh.
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