A win-win trade scenario for Myles Garrett, Browns as rumors swirl

The Browns get an offer that they can’t refuse from a team well positioned to land the star pass rusher.

The Cleveland Browns have maintained that they have no intention of trading away Myles Garrett since the star pass rusher went public with his trade request almost two weeks ago. In his most recent comments, Garrett has said he will do whatever it takes to force his way out of Cleveland.

It appears that we are at a standoff in the situation, and things could get a lot uglier as both sides continue to dig their heels in. With a deadline approaching of March 15th for a bonus owed to Garrett, coming to a resolution in the matter could benefit both sides.

It would require a trade offer from a team that could make trading Garrett away more palatable. The situation is complicated by the salary cap ramifications of trading him and the dead cap hit of $36m it would create.

Ideally, the Browns and GM Andrew Berry would want the deal to provide the following:

• Two high-value, first-round picks to guarantee the Browns multiple swings at getting a franchise quarterback.
• Additional draft assets to acquire young talent to replace aging veterans.
• One or two players that Cleveland could utilize in their scheme at minimum salaries.
• Ability to strike a creative deal to help eliminate some of the dead cap hits that would be caused.

Finding a team that could check all of those boxes may be a tall task, but fortunately, Garrett has conceded that ultimately, Cleveland will dictate where he is traded and just hopes that the Browns would try to put him in the best position.

Sending him to a ready-made title-contending team like the Lions or Bills is out of the question in this scenario as their draft picks will likely be at the end of the first rounds over the next two years. The best Garrett could hope for is going to a team that looks ready to turn the corner and become more competitive over the next few seasons.

A team that has already drafted a young quarterback and has a new dynamic head coach would be an ideal fit for Garrett. Teams like the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears really stand out as two possible landing spots.

They each meet the quarterback and head coach criteria and also have significant cap space to make Garrett the highest-paid defender in the league. The team I like most for this scenario is the Bears, as trading him to an NFC team would assure you wouldn’t be playing against him in a future playoff game.

The Bears landed the hottest coaching candidate over the last several off-seasons in Ben Johnson, who is considered the league’s best offensive guru. He will now be tasked with getting the most out of Caleb Williams, who was considered the most talented quarterback to enter the draft since Andrew Luck over a decade ago.

Landing Garrett...