Browns set to give DE Garrett giant deal
The Browns are closing in on a contract extension with star defensive end Myles Garrett, The AP reported Tuesday.
Garrett, the No. 1 overall pick in 2017 and one of the NFL’s top edge rushers, and the team could have the deal completed in the next day or so.
NFL Network reported the extension could be for five years and $125 million, which would make Garrett the league’s highest-paid defensive player.
The Browns have been eager to lock up Garrett to a long-term deal. The team views him as one of the franchise’s cornerstone players.
Garrett has recorded 301⁄2 career sacks in 37 games for the Browns. He had 10 sacks in 10 games last season and was on his way to making another Pro Bowl when he was suspended by the league for the final six games after he pulled off Steelers QB Mason Rudolph’s helmet and struck him in the head with it.
He was reinstated in February.
The Browns felt the helmet-swinging skirmish was out of character for Garrett, 24, who said he reacted violently because Rudolph had used a racial slur.
Also Tuesday, the Chiefs and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Chris Jones agreed to a four-year contract that could be worth up to $85 million, the latest in a lavish spending spree by the Super Bowl champions.
The deal for Jones, which comes on the heels of a record-setting 10-year extension for QB Patrick Mahomes, includes $60 million in guarantees.
Jones, a second-round pick in 2016, started 11 games and had two sacks as a rookie, then bumped that up to 61⁄2 sacks in Year 2. But it was the 151⁄2 sacks he piled up in 2018 that really raised eyebrows. Jones had another nine sacks last season despite missing three games with injuries.