Getty
Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns warms up before facing the Detroit Lions.
The Detroit Lions are just one move away from making a Super Bowl appearance for the first time in franchise history, at least according to a former NFL general manager and prominent football analyst.
Mike Tannenbaum of ESPN on Monday, February 23 pitched a trade to the Lions involving the reigning and two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.
“[The Browns] are a ways away from competing in the AFC given the uncertainty at the quarterback position, amongst other places,” Tannenbaum said. “If [the Lions] have Aidan Hutchinson on one side and Myles Garrett on the other, with that offense, I think they get to the Super Bowl.”
Myles Garrett’s Trade Value at All-Time High After 2nd DPOY Award
GettyCleveland Browns pass-rusher Myles Garrett.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell wrote in July 2025 that Garrett was worth a first-round draft pick, plus more, in a trade. The defensive end went on to win his second DPOY award last season, this time unanimously, after breaking the league’s single-season sack record with 23 sacks. He also led the NFL with 33 tackles for loss.
Garrett will turn 31 near the end of next season, which could impact his trade value to some degree. But at this point, the Browns could probably deal Garrett at what would be his all-time high trade value.
Given that the Lions pick 17th in the upcoming draft and have a good chance of being better in 2026, thus picking even later in the first round in 2027, it wouldn’t be outside the realm of reality for Cleveland to ask for (and receive) two first-rounders (2026, 2027) as well as another meaningful draft asset, likely in 2026.
Lions Would Struggle to Afford Myles Garrett’s Contract
GettyDefensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.
Some might view Garrett’s recent extension, which came in at four years and $160 million and keeps him under contract through 2030 when he will be 35 years old, as a negative-value deal as he moves into the latter stages of his career. That, in turn, could cause his trade value to dip.
However, Dan Graziano of ESPN brushed off that notion in his response to Tannenbaum’s trade idea Monday morning.
[A Garrett trade] makes sense to me, but it’s not something I’m hearing. The Browns still seem adamant that they don’t want to trade him. He is not making the same kinda noise he was making this time last year about wanting a trade.
While I feel like it makes sense for [Cleveland] to consider it given what you could probably get for this player, given that the extension they did for him last season doesn’t make the contract untradable in any real way, I think it’s something they should be looking at. It doesn’t sound like they are.
Graziano also mentioned the potential problems on Detroit’s side, namely the money the team is going to pay on extensions for star players across the roster, including running back Jahmyr Gibbs, tight end Sam LaPorta, safety Brian Branch and linebacker Jack Campbell.
All of those players from the 2023 draft class are extension-eligible this spring, but LaPorta and Branch have to get done this year or both players will become unrestricted free agents next offseason. The Lions hold fifth-year team options for 2027 on both Gibbs and Campbell as former first-round picks, which means the team can push those extensions off an extra year if need be.
“In terms of who says no to the Detroit move — the salary cap,” Graziano continued. “I think it sounds great, the idea of Myles Garrett in Detroit, but I don’t know how they pay for it.”
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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