Myles Garrett details exactly what he's looking for in his next team

When the football world hasn't been focused on the looming Super Bowl showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, they've been focused on the other massive bit of NFL news this week: star pass rusher Myles Garrett, who went public with a trade request from the Cleveland Browns on Monday morning.

The announcement sent shockwaves around the league, and for good reason. Garrett is arguably the best defensive player in football, smack in his prime at age 29; players that good simply don't become available all that often, and any team that has eyes on competing for a championship any time soon figures to at least give Cleveland a call. But while Garrett isn't technically a free agent, he still has a good deal of control over where he winds up — with just two years remaining on his current contract, a team would only meet the Browns' asking price if it were confident in its ability to sign up him a new deal.

Which begs the question: Just where does Garrett want to spend the next chapter of his career? While he referenced winning a Super Bowl in his statement earlier in the week, we still don't know a ton about just what he values in a potential new home. Luckily, he stopped by for a chat with the Stacking the Box folks to shed some light on things.

Myles Garrett opens up on exactly what he's looking for in a new team

Garrett wasted no time making clear just what mattered to him, and why he asked out of Cleveland in the first place. Asked whether he might prefer warm weather or cold weather, his answer was simple: "winning weather."

"Just a team that’s in need of my services, who’s looking forward to contending here soon and giving us the opportunity to win on the next stage," Garrett said. "I just want more opportunities for that.”

And really, you can't blame him. Garrett has won exactly one playoff game since being taken No. 1 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, and that number didn't figure to grow in the near future given the uncertainty at quarterback and elsewhere in the Browns organization. As he nears 30, the four-time first-team All-Pro knew that he had to strike while the iron was hot if he wanted to put himself in position to compete for Super Bowls.

But while winning is the most important thing, it's not the only thing. Garrett also is a keen student of the game, and he seems to have some thoughts about the way he's been used over the course of his career so far. A team that can not only put a competitive roster around him but sell him on how it'll use him creatively figures to give itself a big advantage.

“I want to be a focal point, having that freedom to move up and down the line, coming off the edge, having things to design me one-on-ones," Garrett said. "Free me up to make those big plays, that's definitely something I’ll keep my eyes on."

Garrett is a unique physical specimen and a unique player, capable of playing several different spots in a given defense. He's also spent years in the same division at Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt, who often languishes on the same side of the formation and has to deal with offenses scheming to take him out of the game. Using Garrett in creative ways would seem to go hand-in-hand with the ultimate goal of winning a title. As for which team can check both of those boxes while making it worth Cleveland's while, that remains to be seen.