NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had enough after a wild couple of days in the National Basketball Association on the trade front. On Monday morning, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Cleveland Browns star edge rusher Myles Garrett has officially requested a trade.
This is not your run-of-the-mill pass rusher. Garrett is a Hall of Famer. He’s been in a class of his own in most seasons without much help.
Garrett’s stats read like video game numbers. He’s one of the few No. 1 overall picks who exceeded expectations. Since 2021, Garrett has 16, 16, 13, and 14 sacks. Again, this is with the opposition going out of their way to game plan for and stop him.
Over the years, the 49ers have not been shy about getting involved in trades. Khalil Mack said the Niners offered him two first-round picks plus a player back in 2018. That was before Nick Bosa. Fast forward to 2025, and Robert Saleh would love to pair Bosa and Garrett.
Myles Garrett’s contract is surprisingly tradeable
Garrett’s contract voids in 2027. So, any team trading for him would have Garrett under control for two more seasons. According to Over the Cap, the Browns would need to eat more than $36 million in dead money if they traded Garrett pre-June 1. A post-June 1 trade would cut that dead money to $14.7 million.
Cleveland is in salary cap hell already with their quarterback. They’ve had no issues kicking the can down the road previously. It’s unlikely that would change with Garrett.
Garrett has no guaranteed money remaining on his contract, but he’ll likely want or receive another massive contract extension from the new team as part of the trade. We’re probably talking about $35 million annually or somewhere in that ballpark.
Garrett is currently due $20 million in 2025 and $25 million in 2026. However, both are paid in March of those years as bonuses. Because Garrett is currently set to automatically be paid by that option bonus, his 2025 cap hit is only $5 million for the new team — not the $20 million that his cap number reads.
The deadline the Browns are looking at is the fifth day of the league year, so they don’t have to pay Garrett $18.5 million in cash.
San Francisco has $43.3 million in effective cap space and five picks in the top 100. Thus, the resources and pedigree Garrett seeks are there.
The compensation for a Myles Garrett trade
If I’m the Browns, a first-round pick is a necessity. If you’re the 49ers, good luck finding a player who can make a bigger immediate impact than Garrett, who has been one of the five best players in the NFL dating back to 2018. There are no signs of Garrett slowing down, and he did not miss a game last year despite playing for a team that had no shot of making the postseason.
Realistically, it’d take a first-round, a Day 2 pick, and perhaps another player. If you’re the 49ers, No. 11, 75, 139, and Yetur Gross-Matos? Would that be enough for Cleveland? They don’t have much leverage if Garrett has made his intentions clear.
Unless it’s the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, you’re not trading three first-round picks for a 29-year-old at any position. It’s plausible to presume Cleveland would take a first and a second, or a first and a pair of third-rounders, or something along those lines.
The 49ers won’t be the only team in the Garrett sweepstakes. And one would think the Browns aren’t sending their star player to the AFC. The Lions, Packers….there’s no need to list the teams that could use Garrett. Every team in the NFL could use a Myles Garrett.
The question is whether you have the ammunition to pull off said trade and if you’re a playoff contender. The 49ers check both boxes. Trading for Garrett not only makes the Niners exponentially better, but keeps him away from other NFC contenders, like the Rams.
But until Cleveland acknowledges this trade, it’s nothing more than offseason fodder. We will see if anything comes of Garrett’s request.