The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year could soon be on the move. On Monday, star pass rusher Myles Garrett made it known he requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns, the franchise he has spent his entire career with since he was the No. 1 overall pick at the 2017 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M.
Naturally, given Garrett’s standing in the league as one of the best defensive players it has to offer, this news set the NFL ablaze with various folks musing about where the 29-year-old could ultimately end up. What’s just as interesting as where Garrett could go in the next chapter of his career, however, is how much he’ll fetch on the trade market.
Back at the Senior Bowl and prior to Garrett going public with his trade request, Browns general manager Andrew Berry emphasized that he would not trade his star edge rusher, not even if a franchise offered two first-round picks. Of course, a lot has changed between then and now, so it will be interesting to see if Berry will stick to his guns on the two first-rounder (and more) price tag, especially considering that every GM in the league now knows Garrett wants out.
On top of that, Garrett, who has two years remaining on his contract, could be due for an extension, further muddying the water when it comes to compensation. Moreover, the Browns previously restructured Garrett’s contract, so they’d be looking at a dead cap charge of over $36 million for 2025 if he was moved before June 1.
All that said, let’s dive in and try to cook up a trio of trade packages that could be appealing enough for the Browns to ship Garrett out of town.
2025 NFL mock draft: Browns select Mason Graham to shore up D-line; Giants pick Shedeur Sanders at No. 3
Ryan Wilson
Browns get: 2025 first-round pick (No. 28 overall), 2026 first-round pick
Lions get: Myles Garrett
The Detroit Lions have been meticulous and methodical when it comes to how they utilize their draft picks, and it’s proven to be extremely successful. With that in mind, shipping out multiple first-rounders would be a break from that core belief by general manager Brad Holmes. But the ability to acquire a talent like Garrett could be enough to push those chips into the middle of the table to try and cash in on this Super Bowl window. If this deal were to come to fruition, the pairing of Garrett and Aidan Hutchinson would form the most-feared pass-rushing unit in the NFL and improve on a defense that already ranked fourth in the NFL in pressure rate in 2024. For Garrett, he’d get his wish to be on a Super Bowl contender, while Cleveland would gain two first-rounders with one sitting at No. 28 overall in 2025 and the other likely in a similar spot in 2026.
Browns get: 2025 first-round pick (No. 29 overall), 2026 first-round pick, DT Daron Payne
Commanders get: Myles Garrett
The Commanders are in a rare situation where they’ve secured a quarterback that was able to take them to the NFC Championship in Year 1. Having that level of quarterback play on a rookie contract is the ultimate cheat code in the NFL, and Washington would be wise to take advantage of it by surrounding Jayden Daniels with as much talent as humanly possible on all sides of the ball. Yes, bringing in Garrett would be costly but he’d also become the top figure on Dan Quinn’s defense that was 14th in the NFL in pressure rate this season. By adding him to the unit, they’d likely vault into the top 10, possibly even top five. In a division where they need to keep up with the Philadelphia Eagles, the best way to combat them could be further bolstering the defense, so the price tag should be worth it even if it is high.
Browns get: 2025 first-round pick (No. 4 overall), 2026 second-round pick
Patriots get: Myles Garrett
This is one of the more interesting destinations that could be in the running for Garrett. On the surface, New England looks too far away to fit Garrett’s desires of playing on a Super Bowl contender. However, the team did seem to establish its quarterback of the future in Drake Maye, and now has the most amount of cap space in the league to retool the roster, which could include Garrett. Meanwhile, there’s already a preexisting relationship that could be a factor as Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel just spent the entire season in Cleveland as a coaching and personnel consultant, so he’d have firsthand knowledge of the type of player New England could be acquiring.
As for the compensation, giving up a top-five pick in any draft is monumental, but it could make sense for the Patriots. If they believe the likes of Abdul Carter and Travis Hunter — two of the few blue-chip prospects in this draft — are going to be off the board by the time they are on the clock, it’s possible they view Garrett as the better option than whoever they’d pluck at No. 4. Given how high that first-rounder is, it’s not out of the realm of possibility Cleveland comes down on their two first-rounder asking price and settles for a second the following year.