The defeats and dysfunction finally broke Myles Garrett in Cleveland. The most surprising part of his Monday trade demand via social media is that it took this long.

Garrett, 29, is coming off a possible second straight Defensive Player of the Year season, complete with 14 sacks, 22 tackles for a loss and three forced fumbles. He’s been a star with the Browns since they drafted him first overall out of Texas A&M in 2017.

The franchise is terrible. He isn’t the problem. And now he doesn’t want the team to drag his career down.

"While I've loved calling this city my home, my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won't allow me to be complacent,” Garrett wrote on Instagram. “The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl.”

NFL teams can turn their fortunes on a dime — Washington won three games last season and reached the NFC championship game this year, after all. That’s how little Garrett believes in the Browns. He’s wasted eight great seasons there. He won’t do another.

It’s the continuing fallout of one of the worst trades in NFL history — the Browns' 2022 decision to trade six draft choices, including three first-rounders, to acquire Deshaun Watson from Houston following a sexual harassment/assault scandal involving dozens of massage therapists.

Cleveland, undeterred by anything — including Watson’s pending suspension — signed him to a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million deal.

Watson thus far has managed just 19 touchdowns in 19 starts, a run marked by mediocre play, league punishment and injury. The Browns just went 3-14. The talent on the roster is ghastly, in part because of all those lost draft picks.

It’s one mistake begetting another disaster — your best player, your fan favorite, your franchise cornerstone defensive lineman saying the situation is hopeless and he has to get out of there.

Garrett had already intimated he wanted to be traded. However, general manager Andrew Berry said last week the Browns wouldn’t listen to offers, which likely prompted Garrett to be even more public and direct in his messaging, during Super Bowl week no less.

Maybe that will spring him to a contender — of which there will be plenty of options. Philadelphia? Detroit? Cincinnati?

The Watson trade is where this all begins, though. The Browns had Baker Mayfield but didn’t believe in him; he’s since taken Tampa Bay to the playoffs twice. They saw Watson as an upgrade, which was potentially true if he could regain his pre-scandal on-field form and could stop the detestable behavior off of it.

The price was incredible, an overbid and overcommitment that spoke to desperation that didn’t seem necessary. Cleveland didn’t care.

“We are confident in Deshaun and excited about moving forward with him as our quarterback and supporting his genuine and determined efforts," team owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam said in a statement at the time.

So much for that.

It’s gotten so bleak that Garrett is demanding he get sprung from a situation where, at least individually, he is happy and thriving.

"As a kid dreaming of the NFL, all I focused on was the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl — and that goal fuels me today more than ever," Garrett wrote. "My love for the community of Northeast Ohio and the incredible fanbase of the Cleveland Browns has made this one of the toughest decisions of my life. These past eight years have shaped me into the man that I am today.”

About the only bright side here for Cleveland is it can begin to recoup some of the lost draft capital from the Watson trade. What is Garrett worth? Maybe two first-round picks? Maybe a first and a couple of others?

Garrett has two years left on a five-year $125 million deal. He carries salary cap hits of $19.7 million in the 2025 season and $20.3 million in 2026.

He’s obviously as good as there is in the league at a position of extreme value. He won’t turn 30 until Dec. 29. Conditioning, effort and attitude have never been a question. And if you can get 14 sacks on a 14-loss team, what is possible on a team looking to win it all?

Garrett in Detroit along with Aidan Hutchinson? Garrett in Washington on a young and hungry team? Garrett in Cincinnati, where the Bengals have all the offense they need? Garrett as part of an elite defensive line in Philadelphia, should the Eagles work some salary cap magic?

Everyone is going to try — including rebuilding teams such as Las Vegas or New England trying to portray a rosy future for themselves.

Wherever it will be, it won’t be in Cleveland unless the Browns find some miracle to convince him they are better positioned than Garrett currently believes.

He wants a contender, and ever since the Deshaun Watson trade, Cleveland hasn’t looked like much of one.