Earlier this week, superstar defensive end Myles Garrett requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns.
Should his wish be granted, could star cornerback Denzel Ward be the next player to ask out of Cleveland?
"[Garrett's trade request] has a huge impact, honestly," Ward said about his future Wednesday, according to Cleveland.com. "I want to play with Myles Garrett. He's a Hall of Fame player. I came in the league, he was on the team, and that's my guy. So I've been talking to him and I know he said he wants out, but you've just got to hear where he's coming from.
"He wants to win, so we'll see what the near future holds."
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Garrett, a four-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler, has registered double-digit sacks in every season but his 2017 rookie campaign and is already first in Browns history with 102.5 career sacks. He's entering the penultimate season of a five-year, $125 million deal.
Ward, who feels that he and Garrett are a "tandem" like "Shaq and Kobe," expressed that he wants "to win," a determination which Cleveland moving Garrett would presumably dent.
"I'm not going to say I don't want to be here. I definitely want to be in Cleveland and play for Cleveland, but I think it's just tough," Ward said. "I would hope we wouldn't trade a guy like Myles Garrett away. That would be hard to see, and I would have to see the idea of, are we trying to win if we're trading Hall of Fame players like that?
"We've just got to wait to see what happens, but I want to play with Myles, though."
The Browns are coming off a 3-14 season and have made the playoffs just twice in Ward's career (2020 and 2023).
Ward, a four-time Pro Bowler, has spent his entire seven-year career in Cleveland. This season, Ward totaled two interceptions, an NFL-high 19 passes defended, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and 49 combined tackles.
The 27-year-old Ward is second in Browns history with 95 career passes defended.
According to PFF, Ward ranked 52nd among cornerbacks this season in coverage grade (68.9), 61st in overall grade (68.4), 100th in pass rush grade (54.1) and 110th in run defense grade (61.1).
He has registered at least two interceptions in each of his seven seasons.
The Browns selected Ward with the No. 4 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. He's in the third season of a five-year, $100.5 million deal, the most total money for a defensive back in NFL history.
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