The dawn of the NFL trade deadline day Tuesday brought with it the first deal of the day.

It came from the Browns. They sent defensive end Za’Darius Smith, along with a 2026 seventh-round pick, to the Detroit Lions in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick.

That came out around 8 a.m., eight hours before the deadline. When the 4 p.m. last call came and went, it remained the only deal the Browns made.

Well, the only trade the team pulled off. The Browns also released veteran defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson, who had been inactive for the last four games.

How close the Browns came to making other deals, it’s hard to say.

General manager Andrew Berry is scheduled to hold his annual bye week press conference Wednesday at 10:30 a.m., and he’s certain to dodge any specifics regarding that subject.

So what is there to make of the Browns’ trade deadline? Here’s a handful of takeaways about what they did, what they didn’t do and what lies ahead.

Cleveland Browns’ return from Detroit Lions in Za’Darius Smith trade feels a little light

The Browns and Lions had been linked together for a potential Smith deal essentially since Aidan Hutchinson’s injury on Oct. 13. It was finally consummated more than three weeks later, resulting in Cleveland getting a pair of day-three draft picks while having to give up one of its own.

The highest of those picks is a fifth-rounder in next April’s draft, which now gives the Browns two fifth-rounders including their own. It also means Cleveland currently sits with five day-three picks total, compared to four picks total between days one and two of the draft, with potential compensatory picks still to be awarded.

One has to wonder if the Browns could’ve increased the return, or at least sweetened it a bit, had they dealt Smith shortly after the Hutchinson injury. While a third-round pick may have been too much to ask for, could they have landed a fourth for him by acting on Detroit’s immediate need immediately after it became a need?

It’s hard to say, especially for a player on a deal with no guaranteed money on it for next year, at which point Smith will be 33. Such, though, is life trying to manage the trade market, especially with an asset and a destination that were an obvious connection for weeks.

What played into a lack of other trades by Cleveland Browns?

Heading into the deadline, the Browns didn’t feel like a team that lacked for potential trade targets. Not talking about players such as Myles Garrett — more on him in a moment — or David Njoku, but players who it would’ve made sense to move.

Defensive tackles like Dalvin Tomlinson or Shelby Harris felt like potential fits for a contender needing a little more productive beef up front. Cornerback Greg Newsome II’s name comes up so often in trade rumors that it’s easy to dismiss it, but he also felt like the one “core” player who could’ve been moved at the deadline and garnered something in return.

All of those players will remain with the Browns for the final eight games. That’s good news for the defense, especially if it can ever heal up enough to be near full strength.

The reality is that this team isn’t healthy enough or, it appears, good enough all around for it to make a difference. The playoffs would require a miracle finish, as would even getting a winning record.

Berry understands that, it would seem. Which means it had to be a lack of either interest or return that led to no other moves.

Myles Garrett trade talk isn’t going away, but neither is he until he wants to go

NFL analysts and other media covering the sport were like sports-talk radio callers in the week leading into the deadline with some of the ides they were conjuring up. That was especially true when it came to Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett.

There were some doozies out there, including a suggestion by former New York Jets general manager — and ex-Bill Belichick “slappy” with the Browns — Mike Tannenbaum that the Lions basically give the Browns a blank check to fill out for Garrett. There were other ideas offered, as many felt like the star should be on the market.

Garrett was never going to be moved at the trade deadline. Period. A deal like that would be tough to pull off in terms of actually getting proper compensation in a compressed time frame like it is in season.

Which is why the conversation will likely come back up once the season ends. People won’t be able to resist, and the current state of the Browns’ roster will make it a conversation that isn’t completely out of bounds.

There’s only one way, though, it goes from someone’s wishful thinking to actual reality. That’s for Garrett, who is under contract through 2026 but with all of the guaranteed money already accounted for, to say he’s ready to leave Cleveland.

That’s the only way Myles Garrett gets traded from the Cleveland Browns.