CLEVELAND, Ohio — Myles Garrett made his intentions known 10 days ago. He doesn’t want to stick around for a rebuild in Cleveland.

Two days before Cleveland’s Week 16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Garrett talked at length about the future, and notably expressed a desire for Cleveland’s defensive core to stay together.

“Getting all the guys back,” Garrett said at the time. “I think that would really keep my mind at rest, keep me settled. Not just mine, a lot of the guys on the defense, the D-line, around the team, but we have to continue to take strides forward, not just as players, but from the top down.”

Since those comments, the Browns have lost two more games, the latest being their 20-3 defeat at the hands of the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, ending their 2024 home slate on a sour note.

They’re now 3-13 with only the finale in Baltimore remaining. They were officially and mathematically eliminated from playoff contention three weeks ago with a 27-14 loss to Pittsburgh. They were unofficially eliminated weeks before with an offense that could never get off the ground.

But even now, with one week to go, and the team’s record the worst it’s been since the 0-16 2017 season, Garrett continues to feel the same way about this core group of defenders.

Why?

“You still got a lot of young guys who are new to this system, new to (Jim) Schwartz and myself, still building that chemistry but still going out there and making plays,” Garrett said on Sunday night. “It’s all learning to jell. Some guys have been thrust into action and really gone out there and showed their behind.

“So, got faith that they continue to grow in the upcoming year, years. And I think even with the short field and some of the turnovers, we were able to really hold them to less points than they really should have put up.”

Last year’s No. 1 ranked unit has fallen considerably stats-wise. Consider their performance in several major stats from 2023 to 2024 (the averages from 2024 were not yet updated to take into account their performance against the Dolphins in Week 17 as of early Monday morning).

The Browns went from first in overall defense (270.2 yard per game) to 20th (339.9). They went from the top-ranked passing defense (164.7 yards per game) to the 16th (212.5). Last year’s 11th-ranked rushing defense (105.5 yards per game) is now ranked 20th.

The one category they’ve been able to hold on is allowing the fewest first downs in the league per game — last year it was 14.9 and this year it’s 17.7.

The reasons for the slide? There’s not an easy answer.

Some of it is just teams having more of a blueprint to Schwartz’s system in Cleveland in year two with a whole season’s worth of film available.

A big part of it has likely been the Browns offense’s struggles, too.

Schwartz’s defense is all about a see quarterback, get quarterback attitude that requires guys upfront to go all out and play with reckless abandon — that becomes much more difficult when you’re not playing with a lead.

And then there’s the fact that the Browns are the worst team in the league when it comes to giveaways. They had 37 heading into Sunday, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw an interception and lost a fumble against Miami to add to the total.

Injuries have also plagued the team at key positions.

Star linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is on injured reserve and hasn’t played since Week 8, when he suffered a scary neck injury against the Ravens. Cornerback Greg Newsome II is on IR with a hamstring injury. So are defensive tackles Shelby Harris (elbow) and Maurice Hurst (ankle/foot), and edge rusher Alex Wright (triceps). On Sunday against Miami, Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward exited with a shoulder injury and didn’t return.

But even amidst this slide, there have still been spurts for the Browns defense. That included holding the Kansas City Chiefs to 21 points and Patrick Mahomes to 50% completion, the lowest of his career, two weeks ago.

“If you look at the score, you feel like we might be playing bad, but if you actually take a step back and look at the stats of each quarterback that we’re playing, rushing yards and things like that, guys are struggling to move the ball on our defense,” Juan Thornhill said. “And that shows what kind of guys we have. We got guys like Myles up front getting after the quarterback, linebackers that can cover ground, like the full 53 yards, and safeties and corners that can cover very well. So hopefully we can keep this thing together because I think we have a bright future for sure.”

There also have been a few younger players stepping up — notably edge rusher Isaiah McGuire, who recorded a sack on Sunday and now had 2.5 for the year. He also has three forced fumbles, tied for the team lead with Garrett.

So despite all of the frustration this year, why do players still feel like this unit is worth keeping together?

“When we’re playing our best ball, (we’re) one of the best defenses in the world, honestly,” Martin Emerson Jr. said. “Flying to the ball, being aggressive and no matter what happens, just leaning on each other and playing for your brother. And that’s special. That’s what the defense does. We play for each other.”

Some of the issues have been in their control in 2024. Some haven’t.

And some of the faces on the unit are bound to change in 2025 — that’s just life in the NFL, as Schwartz likes to say.

But with this core, it’s also about getting the chance to help fix this mess of a year — something they say they are up for.

“Just not let it go to waste,” Grant Delpit said. “Learn from the mistakes and don’t repeat it. Think it’s a valuable year in knowing what to fix and how things could turn out if we don’t do what we got to do. So we got to fix it, and take it and learn from it.”