Garrett's trade request is another consequence of the Watson deal

Every NFL team makes its share of bad decisions. The Browns, however, have established their own special class of swinging, missing, and setting the franchise back indefinitely.

On the surface, Myles Garrett's trade request may seem like little more than the latest gut punch for a fan base that's all too familiar with the concept. And superstars forcing their way to new teams is only becoming more common in this era of player empowerment.

If only it were that simple. No, the Browns chasing away one of the best players in franchise history is a consequence of one particular decision that's still ravaging the organization three years later. It always comes back to the Deshaun Watson trade.

You know the story by now: six draft picks, including three first-rounders, and an unprecedented fully guaranteed $230-million contract. All for a guy who sat out the entire 2021 season and was facing countless sexual misconduct lawsuits, eventually leading to an 11-game suspension.

He's been arguably the worst quarterback in football over his three seasons in Cleveland, with journeymen Joe Flacco and Jameis Winston providing clear offensive upgrades whenever they got the opportunity.

Garrett, the face of the franchise since being selected No. 1 overall in 2017, has never so much as flirted with the idea of looking elsewhere. In fact, it was only last year when he seemingly pledged to take a Joe Thomas-like career path and ride it out in Cleveland - no matter what.

"Being with the team that drafted you your entire career and winning a championship with them is the most special thing you can do in your career," Garrett told ESPN's Jake Trotter. "That's why I'm always going to be committed to this city. As long as they have me, I'm going to be here trying to do my best to elevate this team, this community, this city ... and bring it all home."

Garrett struck a different tune at the end of the season before leaving no doubt in Monday's surprise announcement.

"While I've loved calling this city my home, my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won't allow me to be complacent," he said in a statement. "The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton; it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl. With that in mind, I have requested to be traded from the Cleveland Browns."

So, what changed? Well, it seems like reality set in.

The Browns doing what they did to get Watson has made those Super Bowl dreams all but impossible to achieve in Cleveland. Eating the dead money of a fully guaranteed deal continues to be a complete non-starter. The only way forward has been to restructure, run it back, and pray that Watson recaptures his previous form. Nobody is even pretending to be holding out hope at this point.

Cleveland's only now freeing itself of the draft repercussions of the Watson deal - April's event represents the team's first opportunity to make a first-round pick since 2021. The roster's predictably suffered without chances to add premium talent.

And then there's the cap situation. The Browns would be roughly $43 million under the 2025 cap if it wasn't for Watson's $72.9-million hit. As things currently stand, they've got to clear about $30 million in space to reach the ceiling. Their only option for doing so will be pushing even more money on bad contracts to the future.

Watson's albatross deal will expire after another $72.9-million cap hit in 2026, at which point the Browns can finally start to reset. But it'll surely take time to rebuild from there. And Cleveland probably isn't the team you should be expecting to get it right at that point, either. At 29 years old, Garrett doesn't have time to wait around and find out.

The Browns will continue to resist the idea of entertaining trade options, and it's easy to see why. Garrett's the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and moving him before June 1 will see an additional $16 million in bonus prorations accelerate onto this year's books, further complicating the already-dire cap situation.

While a big enough draft haul could make it worth their while, it can be tough to get fair value for a player who so clearly wants out. And most teams tend to resist the temptation to mortgage the future.

The Browns find themselves in this spot because they, regrettably, are not most teams.