The Cleveland Browns continue to pay the price for perhaps the worst trade in NFL history with Myles Garrett requesting a trade.
BEREA — When the bombshell dropped on Monday morning that reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett, asked the Cleveland Browns to trade him, it became very evident that the domino effect of the Deshaun Watson trade continues to impact the Browns.
Three years out from likely, the worst trade in professional sports, the Browns have paid the debt of the six draft picks that they gave up to acquire Watson, including three, first-round draft choices, a third-round draft choice and two, fourth-round draft picks.
Not to mention the $230 million, fully guaranteed salary, as well as the three, first-round picks and others that should be key players on the Browns, right now.
Due to Watson’s epic failure on the field, that led to a 3-14 season, it is one of the ripple effects that has led Garrett to make this demand.
In 2023, the Browns were 11-6 and made the playoffs, despite losing Watson for the season with a shoulder injury and starting a total of five different quarterbacks.
Just a little over a year ago, Garrett made this statement to ESPN’s Jake Trotter, who was covering the Browns at the time.
“Being with the team that drafted you your entire career and winning a championship with them is the most special thing you can do in your career.”
There was a lot of hope heading into the 2024 season that Watson would finally live up to the expectations that brought him to the Browns.However, it is clear that Garrett thinks the Browns are closer to the team that finished 3-14, as opposed to the team that entered the 2024 season thinking they had enough to get to the Super Bowl.
Garrett made his thoughts known late in the season that he did not want to be part of a rebuild and with comments from Garrett after the season, it seemed as though he was satisfied with what the Browns plans were.
On HBO’s Hard Knocks, Garrett said “We’re closer than some may think we are.” Those comments, along with comments from general manager Andrew Berry in his season-ending press conference and then again, last week at the Senior Bowl, sounded as though Garrett was on board with the Browns plans.
“We always have a really good and direct two-way communication with our players (and) we feel really good about Myles, obviously, as a big piece of our future,” Berry said to reporters at the Senior Bowl. “We’re looking forward to him being on the field. Like I said in my (early January) press conference, we envision him going from Cleveland to Canton when his career is over.”
So why did Garrett go public with his demand of a trade, instead of working with the Browns behind the scenes?
Unless Garrett told Berry and the Browns that he was not satisfied with the team’s plans to be ready to compete in 2025 and asked to be traded at his exit meeting, it does not make sense to make the trade demand with over a month before the NFL league year begins.
Maybe after spending a week at the Pro Bowl and just before the Super Bowl, being told by his peers that he needed to get out from the Browns and join one of their teams, the timing of the request does not make sense.
There is no guarantee that even if Garrett were able to pick his next destination, there is no guarantee that team would make it to the Super Bowl.
First of all, how would a trade of Garrett, particularly to an AFC opponent or a division rival, be in the Browns best interest?
How would that make the Browns better?
Not having a ‘no trade’ clause, from Garrett’s standpoint, he could be traded to a worse situation.
What if the best offer is from a team in a worse situation than the Browns?
‘Chasing a ring’ sounds great, but again, there is no guarantee it will happen.
Unless an AFC team bowled the Browns over with an offer, it would only put up another road block to stand in the way for the Browns to get to the Super Bowl.
It has been assumed that Garrett would be getting a contract extension and it does not seem that he made his demand for a bigger contract, but the Browns have over a month to get it worked out and mend the fences.
It was not long ago, that Brandon Aiyuk asked for a trade, as well as Trey Hendrickson. Only a couple years ago, it seemed the Ravens were at an impasse with Lamar Jackson after he asked for a trade. Jackson signed a five-year, $260 million extension.
Even in the most contentious disputes, a historic extension can go a long way to settle differences.
If Jackson or Joe Burrow made the same trade demands, does anyone think those teams would give in to the demands?
To a lesser degree, the Browns did not trade David Njoku after he asked to be traded.
With that all said, even if the opportunity presented itself, for the Browns to trade Garrett, it would be very difficult to accomplish.
Garrett is under contract for $19.722 million for 2025 and $25 million in 2026 If the Browns were to trade Garrett, they would have a dead cap of over $36 million, according to The OBR’s Jack Duffin. Overthecap.com said the Browns would have to re-structure Watson and Denzel Ward again fully, as well as release Jack Conklin, to create enough space.
For as much of an abject failure the trade for Watson has been, it has not been lost on Garrett–being the best player on the team–that Watson received a $230 million guaranteed contract.
In the past, the Browns have seemingly gone out of their way to accommodate disgruntled players. When Odell Beckham Jr. demanded his release in the middle of the 2021 season–which ultimately torpedoed the season– he was able to sign on with the Rams and get a Super Bowl win, when the Browns could have just made him inactive the rest of the season.
However, the Browns could evaluate the situation with Garrett and decide ultimately, to acquiesce and trade him. The key is to use the move to jump start the overhaul of the roster.
If the Browns decide to move on from a Hall of Fame player in his prime, the Browns would have to solve multiple problems on the roster, including helping solve the quarterback problem. The Browns would not just need to find a running mate to play opposite of Garrett, but find a possible replacement, such as edge rusher Abdul Carter with the No. 2 overall pick.
The Browns should also explore whether they could obtain a starting quarterback through a trade or a pick that would allow them to obtain Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders, if one or the other is deemed the franchise quarterback the Browns are seeking.
A trade for Garrett with the Titans (No. 1) or Giants (No. 3) would allow the Browns to draft both Carter and either Ward or Sanders. If the Browns do not deem there is a franchise quarterback in the 2025 draft, they could explore landing a suitable starting quarterback included in the deal, already under contract, such as Derek Carr, Geno Smith or any other quarterback that a team would be willing to part with.
Berry is on record saying that he would not trade Garrett for two, first-round draft picks. It might not be fair, but Berry’s only had two first-round picks in his first five years as Browns general manager, but those two picks were Jedrick Wills (10th overall) and Greg Newsome (26th overall), hardly worth a trade for Garrett?
If Garrett were to be traded to a contender for draft picks, including the first round, those picks would be near the bottom of the first round. The Lions would seem to be a prime destination, but the Lions have the 28th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Top, proven players in their prime would have to be included in a trade for Garrett.
We’ll have to see how Garrett’s request unfolds, but unfortunately for the Browns, the cost of the Deshaun Watson trade continues to escalate.
