Myles Garrett Aims to Shatter 23-Year NFL Sack Record

Myles Garrett made NFL history last season as he set the record for most sacks in a single season with 23. Now that he's in Los Angeles, Garrett is setting his sights even higher: He wants to become the NFL's all-time sack king.

During an interview with the Rams' official website this week, Garrett was asked how much longer he thought he would play and how many sacks he might end his career with.

"I don't know how much longer I want to play, but I know there's a big goal out there, that's 200," Garrett said.

Every pass-rusher in the NFL knows that number: It's the career record for most sacks and it's held by Bruce Smith. The Pro Football Hall of Famer spent 19 years in the NFL and is the only player in league history to hit the 200-sack mark.

Smith picked up his 200th sack in the second-to-last game of his career back in 2003 and his record has stood unmatched in the 23 years since then. As a matter of fact, no one has come close to topping the record. Julius Peppers ended his career with 159.5 sacks in 2018, which is the highest number that any player has put up since Smith's retirement in 2003.

Garrett currently has 125.5 sacks, which is the third-most among active players behind only Von Miller (138.5) and Cameron Jordan (132). Miller is 37 and Jordan will turn 37 in July, so those two essentially have no shot at breaking Smith's record, but Garrett could make it close, which is his goal.

"I want to eclipse that or I want to make it close," Garrett said of Smith's record. "I have a good relationship with the guy who has that record and being able to go get that one would mean a lot to myself, and to him as well."

After spending the first nine seasons of his career in Cleveland, Garrett will now be heading to L.A. after being traded to the Rams on Monday in a move that sent shockwaves through the NFL. If Garrett sets the all-time sack record, there's a good chance that it will come in L.A.

Can Garrett actually break the record?

The seven-time Pro Bowler is in position to possibly break Smith's record because he racked up 124.5 sacks before turning 30 , which is the most in NFL history. He topped a record that had previously been held by Reggie White, who recorded 108 sacks before turning 30 (Garrett has only played one NFL game since turning 30 on Dec. 29 and he recorded exactly one sack).

Garrett is a five-time All-Pro who has been an absolute machine throughout his career, but there's no guarantee he'll break the record. At 30 years old, he certainly has a chance, but the problem for Garrett is that 30 years old is when pass rushers usually start to see their production fall off.

To catch Smith, Garrett will need to rack up at least 75 more sacks. Over the course of NFL history, there have only been five players EVER who tallied at least 75 total sacks after turning 30 ( via SI ):

- Bruce Smith: 108 - Kevin Greene : 97.5 - Chris Doleman: 93 - Reggie White: 90 - Julius Peppers: 78.5

Through his first nine seasons, Garrett has averaged 13.9 sacks per year and it wouldn't be surprising if he's able to keep that production up for at least the next three or four years. In Cleveland, he racked up sacks even though the Browns were almost always playing from behind. Things should be different in Los Angeles, though. If the Rams play with a lead, their opponent will likely throw more, creating more sack opportunities for Garrett.

Garrett is under contract with the Rams for the next five seasons and if he can average 14 sacks per year in that span, that would put him at 195.5 in 2030, leaving him just five sacks shy of breaking the all-time record at a point when he'll be just 35.

At this point in his career, Garrett is still on the field for almost every play and that's how he likes it.

"I want to be the most dominant force on the field," Garrett said. "It doesn't matter if it's a passing down or if they plan on rushing the ball. I want to lead the league in [tackles for a loss] and also in sacks. I want them to always view me as a problem."

Even if he falls off slightly and only averages 10 sacks per season over the next five years, that would still put him at 175.5, leaving him 25 shy of the record.

Although he's playing almost every defensive snap now, it might make more sense for him to become more of a situational pass-rusher once he hits his mid-30s. That's what Miller did at age 36 last season and he was able to rack up nine sacks with the Commanders even though he was on the field for less than 40% of their defensive plays. Jordan was even more productive, racking up 10.5 sacks at age 36 while playing just over 50% of the defensive snaps in New Orleans.

If Garrett is putting up numbers like that at age 36, then it seems like a lock that he'll top Smith's record, but even if he falls short, Garrett is almost certainly going to end up ranked in the top three on the all-time sacks list, which currently looks like this:

1. Smith: 200 sacks 2. White: 198 sacks 3. Greene: 160 sacks 4. Peppers: 159.5 5. Chris Doleman: 150.5

With just 35 more sacks, Garrett will pass Greene for third on the all-time list and barring injury, that will almost certainly happen.

What it all means is that if Garrett stays in shape and stays injury-free, we could be seeing some huge sack numbers from him for the next six or seven seasons, and there's a good chance he'll end up breaking Smith's record.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/rams-myles-garrett-wants-to-break-nfl-record/)._