It’s Super Bowl week, but Myles Garrett has dominated NFL news since his request for a trade from the Cleveland Browns. The 2023 Defensive Player of the Year wants to be on a contender, and a plethora of current and former players have begun the recruiting process.
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is the most recent current player to pitch Garrett, and he joins two other Niners teammates who have publicly shouted out the defensive end.
The Browns drafted Garrett No. 1 overall in 2017 after going 1-15 the year prior. He came out of Texas A&M as a true junior, already labeled a “future Hall of Famer,” and announced himself with authority by sacking New York Jets quarterback Josh McCown on his first NFL play.
Garrett collected seven sacks in 11 games as a rookie, and it was only up from there for the defensive end. His sack total shot up to 13.5 in 2018, and he’s collected at least 10 each year since.
Garrett led the Browns to the playoffs in 2020 with 12 sacks in 14 regular-season games and was named a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his career. Before that season began, Cleveland signed him to a five-year, $125 million extension, the biggest defensive player contract at the time.
In three of the next four seasons, Garrett was again named a first-team All-Pro while adding DPOY in 2023. Since 2021, he’s collected 60 sacks and has solidified himself as one of the best defensive players of this generation.
Kittle recently went on the “Up and Adams” podcast and discussed the All-Pro when asked if he’s heard of the growing “recruitment center” Radio Row has become.
“Yeah, I think Myles Garrett is a pretty good football player, from what I’ve remembered watching his tape. Solid, decent, yes,” Kittle said sarcastically.
“I’m all for adding really good football players to my roster. That makes my job as an offense easier cause you don’t have to score as many points when you have a guy like Nick Bosa and/or Myles Garrett on this side.”
Garrett and Bosa would be the most dangerous defensive end combo in the NFL if a trade happened, and San Francisco’s offense would benefit from short fields and an incredibly low amount of pressure to score points.
Kittle continued, “I know Fred [Warner] was preaching that yesterday, and I think Fred would love to have another solid D-lineman, so it makes his job a little easier as a linebacker, too. Any time you can add all-star players, hey man, I’m all in for it.”
Warner also made a podcast appearance and pitched Garrett.
Current players can’t legally tamper with other current players by directly telling them to “come play with my team,” so any recruiting comments are typically made with a joking tone, like how Kittle finished his pitch to Garrett.
Kay Adams: “Do you have a pitch you can add…anything you’d like to say to Myles as he might be listening?”
“Hey Myles, we could be really good friends, I promise,” Kittle said.
Kittle joins Warner and 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir in recruiting Garrett. Lenoir recently made an Instagram post inviting the defensive end to come get a ring with the 49ers.
San Francisco legend Jerry Rice even threw his two cents into the Garrett conversation, saying in a recent interview, “That’s a dog. Hey, that’s a no-brainer. If you can get that dog, you go get him because it’s only going to add to that defense. And you win championships with defense.”
It seems like there’s an all-hands-on-deck mentality from current and former 49ers to get Garrett to the Bay area. The Browns still hold all the leverage with Garrett, but their salary cap situation could prevent them from getting the king’s ransom the DPOY is worthy of.
