Acme Packing Company
March 12th and March 16th are huge dates for Garrett and the Browns
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is as serious as can be about being traded to a contender this offseason. Not only did he release a statement saying as much earlier this week, but on Wednesday he did the carwash on Super Bowl’s Radio Row, repeating that statement to anyone who would listen to him.
At the moment, it doesn’t appear that the Browns want to part ways with Garrett — because of what it means for the rest of their roster and their short-term outlook — but if anyone knows how to get out of Cleveland, it’s LeBron James, who owns Klutch Sports, the agency that represents Garrett. In short, it’s going to get messy.
Currently, the Cleveland Browns are slated to be $34 million over the salary cap to start the 2025 offseason. That’s the second-highest mark in the league behind just the New Orleans Saints. Trading Garrett, whose contract has featured several seasons of salaries converted into signing bonuses to free up short-term cap space for the Browns over the years, would bring on an additional $36 million in dead cap for Cleveland. Garrett’s 2025 cap hit was slated to be $19.7 million, meaning that $16-ish million difference is how much more the Browns have to take on cap-wise to let Garrett, the former first overall pick in the draft and an NFL defensive player of the year, to walk.
Garrett didn’t just ask the Browns to trade him. He asked the team to fundamentally restructure its entire cap sheet to accommodate his request, forcing the team into a rebuild earlier than they had planned. If Garrett is traded, Cleveland would have to essentially convert every “good” salary they have on their books into signing bonuses while also considering either trading or releasing some starters so that they can even sign a rookie class. This is the hole the Browns have dug themselves into with how they’ve handled the failing Deshaun Watson trade and extension.
The kicker? All the pressure is on Cleveland.
In Garrett’s contract, there’s a stipulation that he will receive $18.5 million in bonus money on the fifth day of the new league year in 2025, which will be March 16th. If he remains on the Cleveland roster after that date, the Browns will only be adding even more dead money that they can’t afford to pay for a player who no longer wants to suit up for Cleveland.
When Garrett requested a trade, some thought that it was a ploy he made to receive a new extension with the team. In truth, it’s hard for the Browns to even hand him more money with the way the club’s salary cap table is set up right now. If he really wants out, the clock is ticking. Cleveland is going to have to do something by March 16th so they can get their house in order.
The Browns have to be under...
