With the combine only just kicking off NFL Draft season and the official start of Free Agency a few weeks away, we're in one of the slow points of the NFL offseason. At this stage, the most interesting and concrete buzz around the league is focused on the trade market.
And unless you've been living under a rock, you're well aware that Myles Garrett is by far the biggest name on the market. For as much as Cleveland Browns fans want to focus on the entirety of the offseason, it's hard to do that when there's uncertainty around whether your team will retain the NFL's best defensive player or not.
And with trade buzz comes trade speculation. No matter where you look, people are projecting what potential deals for Garrett will look like. Some of these are great for the Browns, some not so much. Let's take a look at three offers that are being floated and grade each trade.
- Browns-Bears: Major Haul to Kick Off Rebuild
- Browns-Bills: The Nightmare Scenario
- Browns-Chargers: A Realistic Disappointment
Browns-Bears: Major Haul to Kick Off Rebuild
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report has put together a list of trade packages that could happen with the top 10 picks in the NFL Draft. His package for the Chicago Bears' No. 10 overall pick involves Garrett.
Kay doesn't quite give the full package, but for a deal of this scale it doesn't make a huge difference if his projection of "some Day 2 capital" means two second-round picks (the Bears hold No. 39 and 41) or a second and a third (the Bears hold No. 72). The gist of the deal is the Browns getting a top-10 pick as well as some additional early-round picks this year plus a 2026 first (which would likely be a mid or late-first round pick).
After being light on picks for a couple years after a failed trade for a certain quarterback, this move would leave the Browns with the No. 2 pick, No. 10 pick and potentially four or five second- and third-rounders this year — a huge amount of ammunition to jump-start a rebuild.
Browns fans are sick of tying their hopes to the unknown of young players and draft picks, but what other option is there at this point? If Garrett will be gone anyway and Deshaun Watson is making the Browns' cap space a mess for the short-term, then the only real path to contending is going all-in on building for the future. This trade would be the perfect first step.
Grade: A
Browns-Bills: The Nightmare Scenario
Over on The Athletic, Joe Buscaglia has written up a mock offseason for the Buffalo Bills. The marquee move for the Super Bowl hopefuls is a splashy trade to add Garrett.
This one's a heck of a lot less exciting. The No. 30 pick is a fine piece, but when there are reports that one NFL GM doesn't think Garrett is even worth multiple firsts, it's a possibility Browns fans need to at least consider.
Ultimately though, this wouldn't feel a whole lot better than having Garrett just play out the final year of his contract and walk in free agency.
A.J. Epenesa does not move the needle. He's put up reasonable sack totals over the last three seasons, but if you're just judging him on having 6.0 or 6.5 sacks, you're missing the bigger picture. He was genuinely great in 2023, but he's largely been a terrible run defender, and his first season as a full-time starter in 2024 was a disappointment. He's also heading into the final year of his contract, so that doesn't do much for the Browns' rebuild.
Ignoring the almost meaningless late-round pick swap, that means the Browns are basically just getting a very late first-round pick for Garrett here. Yikes.
Grade: D-
Browns-Chargers: A Realistic Disappointment
Another projection on Bleacher Report, this time from Moe Moton, sends Garrett to the NFC West with the Los Angeles Chargers.
This one strikes a bit of a middle ground between the previous two deals. There are no players being tacked on who won't give the Browns any long-term help, but the draft haul is decidedly less exciting than the Bears projection above.
But a first, a second and two fourths feels a little light to begin with, even before factoring in that a couple of those are pick swaps (moving from the third to the second and the seventh to the fourth in 2026). The first-rounder is also not an especially exciting one — it's better than No. 30, but in a year with a draft class that has more strength in depth than in top-end talent it's not better by a whole lot.
I fear this is the most realistic deal though. Was the GM who cited Garrett's value as "1 and a 2. 1 and 2 3s. Throw a player in there" hoping to just drive his price down? Maybe, but the Browns have almost no leverage in this situation. Even though Andrew Berry is claiming that he'll play hard ball and not trade Garrett, it's hard to believe he sticks to that and risks putting another botched trade scenario on his resume.
Grade: C