Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated explains why the Cleveland Browns should look to trade Myles Garrett and accelerate their roster rebuild.
Andrew Berry said that Myles Garrett will be a career Cleveland Brown. He couldn't flat at out say unequivocally that he wouldn't be traded, though. And so, conversations and debates over the future of the NFL's single-season sack record holder rage.
One NFL Insider offered arguably the most compelling case yet for potentially exploring a trade involving Cleveland's biggest star. As Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated explained, the timelines between Garrett and the franchise simply don't align.
"I think they should trade [Myles Garrett] because I don't think the timelines match anymore," Breer said during an interview on The Rich Eisen show. "There's a good chance that the quarterback of the future isn't going to be on the roster until 2027, right? You look at what they did last year in trading the Travis Hunter pick which was, I think, basically an acknowledgment that that group had aged out.
"We need more young talent across our roster. At that point, Myles Garrett is 32 years old. The timelines don't match up. Would you rather have Myles Garrett there chasing a championship at the end of his career or would you take three first-round picks for him to supercharge what I was just talking about?"
It's a fair argument from Breer, especially with the added context that Garrett requested a trade last year before inking what, at the time, was a record-breaking contract to return to the Browns.
Back then, Garrett cited wanting to win a Super Bowl as the main motivator for his request, something Cleveland isn't honestly in position to do at the moment, especially with some glaring holes to fill on the offensive side of the ball, quarterback included.
A couple weeks back, General Manager Andrew Berry adjusted Garrett's contract to push back an option bonus due date until just before the season starts. The move saves Cleveland no money in the immediate future, but would lessen his dead cap hit if he were to be traded after June 1.
That left many wondering if the move was done as a precursor to trading the two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Berry tried to dispel that idea at the league's annual meetings, where he dropped that aforementioned line about Garrett being a career Brown.
Time will tell if that holds true this summer and in the years to come. Breer's right about the timelines not aligning, though, and trading Garrett could help accelerate Cleveland's rebuild, considering the haul of picks he would command in return.
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