Myles Garrett burns bridge with Cleveland after going scorched earth on Browns

Few football fans can blame Myles Garrett for wanting out of Cleveland. The Browns are bad, and have been ever since re-entering the NFL landscape in 1996. Just as Kevin Stefanski and Co. were starting to turn the franchise around, they chose Deshaun Watson over Baker Mayfield and never looked back.

The Browns signed Watson to the richest contract in NFL history at the time despite horrific sexual misconduct allegations against him. Watson turned into a pumpkin overnight, and is widely considered one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL. He is definitely the worst contract in the league.

Garrett isn't excited about the Browns direction, and thus asked for a trade on Monday in a statement.

"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. 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," Garrett wrote.

Myles Garrett consulted LeBron James about leaving Cleveland

To make matters worse for the Browns, Garrett apparently thought all of this through, reaching out to another famous athlete who knows all too well about leaving Cleveland. Yes, that guy. Per Garrett's interview on the Rich Eisen show during Super Bowl week, he called up LeBron James, one of the best basketball players of all-time who left Cleveland not once, but twice. The Akron native is an expert.

The first time around, James left the Cavaliers in a public betrayal on ESPN, now infamously known as 'The Decision'. I'm not sure what James advice was for Garrett, but it ought to have mentioned that train wreck. To Garrett's credit, he hasn't dodged questions about his looming Browns exit on radio row, and has been willing to discuss prospective fits as well, such as the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders.

Garrett means well, and if the Browns were as committed to building a winner as he is about winning a title in the next few years, then perhaps the star pass rusher wouldn't want to leave Cleveland. Yet, the Browns aren't remotely close to a Super Bowl, and Garrett is reaching the tail end of his prime.

Cleveland fans won't be thrilled he consulted LeBron before breaking their hearts, but they ought to point their fingers at the Browns rather than Garrett.