The two best football players I have ever watched in training camp joint practices in my 12 seasons covering the NFL were Tom Brady and Myles Garrett.
The Eagles and Browns worked out together in Philly in 2023, and Garrett basically wrecked the portions of practice that he participated in, because nobody could block him. The Eagles’ player who saw the most of Garrett was Jordan Mailata, who had a Pro Bowl-caliber season in 2023, as Garrett alternated between running around him and running through him all day long. It was only after Garrett decided he was done practicing for the day that the Eagles’ offense and the rest of the Browns’ defense could get some quality work in.
Garrett may very well be the best defensive player in the NFL. He was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, and he’s a nominee once again in 2024. He now has seven straight seasons with double-digit sacks, and 60 sacks in 66 games since 2021.
He also had one of the highlights of the season, when he jumped over the Eagles’ field goal team and blocked a kick that was returned for a touchdown.
He has an extreme blend of size and speed, which has translated to outstanding production on the football field, despite playing for a bad organization in Cleveland.
On Monday, Garrett sent out a press release saying that he has asked the Browns to trade him.
As a kid dreaming of the NFL, all I focused on was the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl – and that goal fuels me today more than ever. My love for the community of Northeast Ohio and the incredible fanbase of the Cleveland Browns has made this one of the toughest decisions of my life. These past eight years have shaped me into the man I am today.
While I’ve loved calling this city my home, my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won’t allow me to be complacent. The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl.
With that in mind, I have requested to be traded from the Cleveland Browns.
– Myles Garrett
Should the Eagles have interest?
I mean, yeah, lol. Of course they should. Every team in the league should.
He’s arguably the best defender in the sport, and the Eagles’ biggest need this offseason is probably at edge rusher.
In his statement above, Garrett says only that he wants to play for a team that can compete for a Super Bowl. He does not mention money, but he would almost certainly be asking for a new contract from any acquiring team. And spoiler, that’ll be expensive:
Trading DE Myles GarrettNew Team Acquires2025: $19.8M (non-gtd)
2026: $25M (non-gtd)#Browns Dead Cap
$36,216,580
The 29-year-old will be seeking a deal, currently projecting toward a 4 year, $137M contract in our system.
— Spotrac (@spotrac) February 3, 2025
So what’s the trade cost?
Well, a surprising number of good-to-great edge rushers have been traded in the last 7-8 years, like Brian Burns, Bradley Chubb, Montez Sweat, Von Miller, Yannick Ngakoue, Frank Clark, Olivier Vernon, etc., but the player who probably had somewhat comparable value to Garrett at the time he was traded was Khalil Mack, back in 2018. The details of that trade:
Bears gotRaiders got Khalil Mack 2019 1st round pick 2020 2nd round pick 2020 1st round pick 2019 7th round pick 2020 3rd round pick 2019 6th round pick
Mack was 27 at the time of that trade, and was entering his fifth year in the NFL. Garrett turned 29 in December, and 2025 will be his ninth year in the NFL. Obviously, Garrett has more wear and tear on his body than Mack did at the time, but Garrett is also a better player.
My guess is that the cost is at least a couple of first round picks, and in the Eagles’ case, probably more, because their 2025 first rounder will be 31st or 32nd overall, and their 2026 pick is likely to be later in the first round as well.
For what it’s worth, the Browns told NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo that they don’t intend to trade Garrett, because, really, there’s nothing else they can say.
But ultimately, if Garrett wants out badly enough, he can probably make it happen, and he’ll have no shortage of suitors.
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