Rumors continue to swirl about the Cleveland Browns potentially moving on from Myles Garrett, even as the front office maintains it has no intention of doing so.
If Cleveland were to seriously entertain offers, there would be no shortage of interest. Elite pass rushers like Garrett rarely become available, and multiple contenders would be eager to make a deal.
Writing for Bleacher Report, Gary Davenport identified the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles as two teams that could make the most sense as trade partners. Both organizations have the roster strength and draft capital to assemble a package that might at least get Cleveland’s attention.
“Potential Trade Partners: San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles,” Davenport wrote. “The Cleveland Browns restructured the contract of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett recently, and as soon as that happened the rumors started flying. Garrett wanted to play for a Super Bowl contender, while a rebuilding Browns team was looking to get what it could for a player on the wrong side of his 30th birthday. Now, the seven-time Pro Bowler has skipped the first set of voluntary workouts, adding fuel to the fire. The Texas A&M product has a no-trade clause, so he would have to sign off on any deal. However, it’s not hard to imagine teams being interested in a guy who has won DPOY honors in two of the past three years and just broke the single-season sack record.”
For some, the thought of letting go of Garrett, especially right now, would be a shocking and franchise-changing decision. He is coming off of perhaps his best season yet, a historic campaign that saw him earn a place in the record books. For a team that has a lot of problems, Garrett is not one of them.
And perhaps that is why now would be the right time to let him go. He’s not getting any younger, and the Browns are currently a long way off from being Super Bowl contenders. Becoming a champion is his main goal, and if the Browns can’t pave the path for him to become one, they might be smart to let him go while his trade value is still sky-high.
The Browns are publicly saying one thing, but it is possible that they are weighing their options behind the scenes. If they are, they are surely thinking of teams like the Niners and Eagles, calculating what they could get in return.
Any trade for their two-time Defensive Player of the Year would be a monstrous one.
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