The 25th March was meant to be the date Myles Garrett's option bonus was paid and the prospect of trading him would be retired for the remainder of the season. I wrote about this on the 24th March how I was looking forward to ending all discussion on the topic for another year. Instead a change to his contract has moved the trade window from a 25th March deadline to late August. Which means we now face months of conversation regarding could Myles Garrett be traded, all the way up to the regular season kicking off.
The Browns are left with dead cap if they trade either of these players:
Myles Garrett - $41,090,225
Denzel Ward - $32,156,200
Making the trade after June 1st would spread the same dead cap over two years:
Myles Garrett - $15,534,000 in 2026 and $25,556,225 in 2027
Denzel Ward - $13,464,000 in 2026 and $18,692,200 in 2027
The timeline of potential moves for Garrett and Ward are linked:
If the plan is to trade Myles Garrett before June 1st, then they will need to restructure and keep Denzel Ward for 2026.
If they are content trading Myles Garrett after June 1st, then they can either keep or trade Denzel Ward too.
In this article we will look at free agent, trade and draft options to replace both of these players.