"With great power comes great responsibility."
While a famous line from the comics and film Spider-Man, it also serves as a motivational message to one of the Browns best defensive edge rushers in Myles Garrett from defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
It's a message that he has shared with Garrett before and is applicable once again for the 2025 season following Garrett's contract extension that runs through the 2030 season.
"I really think Myles is going to have the best season of his career and has to, right?" Schwartz said. "I've told him before […] what's that Spider Man quote? 'With great power comes great responsibility.' That's with the big contract, with the notoriety that came along with that, with the process that took to get him to that point."
Following the end of the 2024 season in which the Browns went 3-14, Garrett took time to consider all aspects of his future. While that originally led him to release a statement and request a trade, it also led to continued conversations with Executive Vice President of Football Operations Andrew Berry, coaches and teammates to understand the vision for the Browns. He then signed the four-year contract extension in March 2025.
Now, as the Browns prepare for mandatory veteran minicamp set for June 10-12, Garrett will take the field at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus to begin preparation for the 2025 season. He'll also look to build on his achievements from the 2024 season.
While the Browns struggled to find success on the field in 2024, Garrett broke records. He became the 45th player in NFL history since 1982 to surpass 100 career sacks, and the fourth-fastest player to do so with his 115th game. He is also the only player to accomplish that feat before his 29th birthday. His 102.5 career sacks during the 2024 season are the second-most in the NFL since 2017 – just behind T.J. Watt – and are the most by a Brown all time.
As a six-time Pro Bowler, Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and a finalist in 2022 and 2024, Garrett's defensive prowess is one that teams across the league game plan ways to take him out of the game. Not only did he finish the 2024 season with 14 sacks – second in the NFL – but he also faced a league-high rate of double teams and chip blocks. He was double teamed on a career-high 30 percent of pass rush attempts, but found a way to still apply ample pressure. He totaled a league-high 22 tackles for loss and 84 quarterback hits – the third most in the league.
That outside pressure will continue to come in 2025. Schwartz reiterated that Garrett sees a high volume of double chips as well as center slides – which lets the tackle overset him with the guard to play the inside and can create a triple team. Schwartz knows that if teams do use the center slide into Garrett, they have to find ways to take advantage of the situation.
As the Browns work to re-establish their defensive identity in 2025, Garrett's veteran presence will play an important role. He established his role and cemented himself as a foundational piece for the Browns in his first eight years in the NFL. Now, with the extension in place and the Browns' goals to bounce back in 2025, Garrett's on-field success will play a valuable factor in their overall achievements as a unit.
"There's always pressure in this league, but probably a little bit more so," Schwartz said. "And I think that brings out the best in players, and I know that'll be the case with Myles."
