Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns
Getty
Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns
It’s not going to happen tomorrow, of course, and there have been plenty of reports and assertions coming out of Barea that there is no way the Cleveland Browns are in current pursuit of a Myles Garrett trade. There are plenty of reasons for that, starting with the fact that Garrett is arguably the best player in the NFL, and teams do not take the prospect of trading away the league’s best player lightly.
The Browns have a new coach, Todd Monken, who might not want to start his tenure with a Garrett trade. They also just handed Garrett $160 million on his contract a year ago to quell a Garrett trade demand, and that included a $20 million bonus payment that is firmly on Cleveland’s books. Trading Garrett now does not do much to save the Browns cap space.
The Browns have insisted that they’re not moving Garrett, but the fact remains, as ESPN’s Field Yates reported, that they agreed with Garrett to tinker with the timing of some of his future option bonuses, subtle and complicated moves that, experts agree, make Garrett more tradeable going forward.
Browns Not Trading Myles Garrett ‘Immediately’
The timing of the Garrett contract maneuvers certainly is notable. There was no real reason for the Browns to move his bonus dates other than to pave the way for a deal. Any trade would need Garrett’s approval–he has a no-trade clause–but given the state of the Browns offense, it’s easy to see why he’d be open to waiving that clause.
That’s the only real way to see this, according to Zac Jackson of The Athletic. As he said on his, “Zac Jackson and Friends” podcast, “It is clear that this move here, this procedural move which I feel pretty strongly is an accurate way to say it, it opens the door for the Browns to trade Myles Garrett. I do not believe it means a trade is imminent, and I do not believe the Browns are planning to trade Myles Garrett immediately.”
Myles Garrett Move ‘Could Be Coming’
But things move fast in the NFL, especially as the draft gets nearer and nearer. And if the Browns do want to make a move on Garrett, who is 30, isn’t it a the-sooner-the-better proposition? Wouldn’t it be better to start a rebuild in Year 1 of Monken’s tenure, rather than a year or two down the line?
Said Jackson: “I think as I read through this move and thought it through, I think it gives the team flexibility going forward and how it will handle Myles’ money if he’s on the team. But it certainly does make you think that a trade could be coming.
“Obviously, that would be a hard turn from where they were a year ago. And Myles got all that new money, $123 million guaranteed ahead of his big season but that included a $20 million lump sum signing bonus. Where, even in a world in which the Browns do nothing but spend money, that’s a lot of money to turn around and trade a guy a year later.”
Todd Monken, Cleveland Browns coach
GettyTodd Monken, Cleveland Browns coach
Browns Offense Not Close to Contention
The ideal situation for the Browns this season is to build the offense back to something close to a league-average unit, and allow the defense to shine as one of the Top 3 defenses in the NFL. That could be enough to get the Browns to 10 wins, especially if other AFC North teams have issues (Joe Burrow’s health, Aaron Rodgers retiring).
The problem with that is, the Browns’ offense has been 32nd in Pro Football Focus’s ratings each of the past two years and might well be too far gone to fix this offseason. Besides which, playing for 10 wins and an outside playoff chance is not a real way to build a team, not for the long haul.
There is, then, a case to be made for the Browns trading Garrett sooner rather than later. And they’re in better position to do it now.