The Opening Drive 6/1: The Myles Garrett Noise Will Grow Louder, and Monken Schematic Spotlight: Pin/Pull

Digging into the details of the pin/pull scheme as we launch our series of the Browns 2026 offensive staples.

Jun 01, 2026

∙ Paid

(Photo Courtesy of the Cleveland Browns)

Today is that important date worth circling on the NFL calendar. No, not because we’re digging into the schematic details for Todd Monken’s offense (more on that later), but rather because of the financial ramifications.

With the calendar turning to June, first the Browns open up some cap relief. By 4:01 pm today, the dead cap hits for David Njoku and Wyatt Teller will drop to $9.5 million and $8.2 million respectively for 2026. Cleveland will push $14.7 million and $13 million dead cap figures for that duo into 2027.

Also, and more importantly, theoretically the team can trade Myles Garrett at any point. That’s not hyperbole — it’s a direct result of a quietly significant contract restructure the team agreed to back in March. Rather than pay a $29.2 million option bonus in March as originally structured, the Browns and Garrett agreed to push that payment off until seven days before the regular season begins in September, making a post-June 1 deal financially viable without the kind of cap damage that would have made a trade nearly impossible earlier this offseason.

The question worth asking isn’t whether the Browns can move him — it’s whether they will, and what the market actually looks like. The name generating the most buzz right now is the Rams. There was one report claiming Philadelphia offered AJ Brown and additional compensation while LA has made preliminary calls to Cleveland but ESPN’s Adam Schefter has noted the Eagles are not in serious contention. Most of the noise needs to be filtered carefully. As of last weekend, there were no credible reports confirming the Rams have made a serious formal offer — only unverified sourcing that most reasonable analysts believe should be treated with skepticism.

What’s harder to dismiss is the structural context. The Browns were willing to agree to contract changes they didn’t have to make, and many argue there’s no other reason to do so unless a trade is a real possibility. It’s worth noting that four edge rushers — Watt, Parsons, Hutchinson, and Will Anderson Jr. — have since surpassed Garrett’s contract as the market has climbed to $50 million per year, leaving one of the best pass rushers in football underpaid and tied to one of the NFL’s worst rosters.

The Joe Thomas parallel is uncomfortable but relevant. Thomas spent his entire career in Cleveland, never played in a playoff game that mattered, and retired with nothing to show for it team-wise. Myles Garrett is staring at a similar crossroads at age 30 and now has a no-trade clause at his disposal to control where he lands.

We’ll have more on the trade scenarios, what a realistic return package looks like, and what losing Garrett would mean for this defense as things develop. But today is the day to start paying close attention and the noise is growing.

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As we get into the summer I am going to spend some time on Todd Monken’s staples across his offensive structure the last three seasons in Baltimore. While he isn’t rooted in any one concept, he is diverse and uses weekly gameplanning to maximize talent and schematic advantages. Those can come through formation, motion, and more. I noticed the Browns running this concept in the open OTA session last week so we hit on the pin/pull concept today. It can be run in a variety of ways but the basic concept needs two bodies doing two key roles.

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