There's Something Worse Than Browns Losing Myles Garrett This Offseason

It's been an eventful offseason already for the Cleveland Browns, particularly after star pass rusher Myles Garrett went public with his request to be traded to a Super Bowl contender.

Garrett has served as one of the main faces of the franchise since being drafted No. 1 overall eight years ago.

It goes without saying that losing Garrett would be a detrimental shot to the Browns' ability to remain competitive in both the short and long term. More than anything, though, the departure of a generational talent would be a tough pill to swallow for Browns fans.

Whether or not general manager Andrew Berry will end up actually moving the 2023 AP Defensive Player of the Year remains to be seen – he's been adamantly against it to this point. Even if he does grant Garrett his wishes though, it's not even the most painful outcome the Browns could endure this offseason.

During a conversation on Pittsburgh's Audacy sports station 93.7 the fan, station program director Jeff Hathhorn suggested that the Pittsburgh Steelers could be a realistic suitor for Browns star running back Nick Chubb. Running back is a need for the Browns' biggest rival with former first-round pick Najee Harris set to enter free agency, and as Hathhorn explained, Chubb is someone they could pursue.

"I'll throw out a name of someone that I know that they're interested [in] and at least talking to," he explained. "The medicals would have to play out and obviously it would be a decision, but Nick Chubb is someone they'd consider."

For as much as Browns fans love Garrett, there isn't a player on the roster more beloved than Chubb. And suddenly, this real possibility of him not returning to the franchise next season looms large, with free agency just a few weeks away.

That's a potentially upsetting reality Browns fans are already coming to grips with, leading up to the start of the new league year on March 12. A world where Chubb signs with the Steelers of all teams, though, that's about as doomsday an outcome there could be.

The Browns have spent decades living in the Steelers shadow. Pittsburgh is touted as a gold standard of the league in terms of how to build a consistent playoff competitor – even if they also consistently lose in the first round.

Pittsburgh has held its winning history and six Lombardi trophies over Cleveland for years. On top of the Browns having just 10 wins over the Steelers since the franchise was reinstated in 1999.

The lopsided rivalry has produced a big brother versus little brother aura for the better part of three decades. Now, imagine if big brother swipes the player who has been the beating heart for little brother.

That's what Chubb represents. He's been the heart and soul of the Browns organization over the last eight years and is a symbol for a blue-collar, hard-working region. For how much the city has embraced the four-time Pro Bowler, though, he's embraced it back.

As Chubb explained in his player's tribune letter last season after returning from a gruesome knee injury, suffered (ironically) against the Steelers back in 2023, it was the support from Browns fans that helped him endure one of the darkest moments of his career.

There is a genuine bond that exists between Chubb and the Cleveland faithful. Because of that, it's hard enough to picture him in a different uniform at all.

But Chubb in a Steelers uniform is a whole different level of sacrilegious. It just wouldn't be right. And frankly, there's not a single thing that could happen to the Browns this offseason more painful than that.

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