Myles Garrett wants Browns to share plan for winning sooner than later

Browns defensive end Myles Garrett has spent nine seasons with the team. And while he wants to stay, his commitment comes with a caveat.

He wants to win.

More accurately, he wants the Browns to show him that they have a plan for winning.

“I’m not trying to rebuild," Garrett told reporters on Friday, via Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com. "I’m trying to win right now. And I want that to be apparent when the season is over and we have those discussions. I want them to be able to illuminate, illustrate that for me so that can be something I can see in the near future."

It's going to be hard to do it, given that $92 million in cash — and many more millions in cap dollars — remain committed to quarterback Deshaun Watson, the centerpiece of the worst trade-and-sign in NFL history. Beyond the key players the Browns sacrificed to acquire him, the $230 million, fully-guaranteed contract makes it harder to pay others.

Garrett, like Watson, is signed for two more years. If the Browns don't sufficiently persuade Garrett that they have a plan for winning sooner than later, why wouldn't he want out?

The clock is ticking on his career; he turns 29 in only nine days.

And so the ball is in Cleveland's court. Can they persuade Garrett that there's a path to winning, even with the added weight of the Watson trade?