EASTLAKE, Ohio -- Browns cornerback Denzel Ward says he wants to remain in Cleveland, even after the team traded defensive end Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday.
"I definitely still want to be here," Ward said Saturday at his inaugural celebrity softball game. "Myles is a good friend of mine, a great teammate, but things aren't lost. It's Ohio against the world. So people could doubt us, but we're going out there still trying to play our best ball and bring wins to the city."
Ward, the No. 4 pick in the 2018 draft, becomes the longest-tenured player on the Browns after Cleveland sent Garrett, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, to the Rams in exchange for two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-rounder and a conditional 2029 third-rounder.
"Crazy trade, definitely a crazy trade," said Ward, 29. "I believe that either you're with us or against us, and as you see, he's not with us. Crazy trade, but hey, that's the nature of this game."
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported after Monday's trade that the Browns are not making Ward available for a trade after dealing Garrett.
"[Ward is] a big part of the team, and we like him a lot," Browns general manager Andrew Berry said Tuesday. "He's still playing at a really high level. That doesn't change with this transaction."
Ward, a five-time Pro Bowler, has two years but no guaranteed salary remaining on the five-year, $100 million extension he signed in April 2022.
