During last Friday’s airing of “Get Up,” ESPN NFL analyst and former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum floated a trade idea involving the Detroit Lions. In Tannenbaum’s potential blockbuster, the Lions would acquire Cleveland Browns superstar edge Myles Garrett, but the Lions would need to relinquish a king’s ransom in order to land the seven-time Pro Bowler.
Tannenbaum’s trade proposal would involve the Lions dealing two first-round picks and young star receiver Jameson Williams to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Garrett.
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“Two first-round picks and Jameson Williams to the (Cleveland Browns). Who says no, Greeny? If you’re the Lions, you go to the Super Bowl with Aidan Hutchinson, Myles Garrett and that offense. And if you’re the Browns, you have such a big rebuild. Two first-round picks and get a young, explosive player. Seventeen touchdowns in his career, 17 yards per catch. You need so many weapons. You need so many holes to fill. If I’m the Browns, I do that to start the massive rebuild,” Tannenbaum proposed.
While Lions fans have long desired a formidable edge threat to complement the outstanding talents of Aidan Hutchinson, there are many potentially problematic caveats involved in Tannenbaum’s blockbuster proposal, starting with the salary cap situation.
Thanks to Myles Garrett’s monstrous four-year, $160 million contract extension signed last offseason, the Browns would accrue $40.8 million towards their 2026 dead cap and lose $16.1 millions in cap space if they trade the 2017 No. 1 overall selection before June 1, according to Spotrac.
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If a trade occurs after June 1, the Browns would add $85 million to their 2026 dead cap, $25 million to their 2027 dead cap, and lose $60 million in 2026 cap space.
On the Lions’ end of the salary cap conundrum, Detroit is still $6.5 million above the 2026 salary cap after its David Montgomery trade and after cutting Graham Glasgow, per Over The Cap. The Lions have young stars it envisions inking to contract extensions and other free agency moves it might want to orchestrate as well.
Garrett currently has cap hits of $24.6 million in 2026, $28.9 million in 2027, $31 million in 2028, $64 million in 2029 and $57.9 million in 2030. That’s a lot to add to the books for an aging star like Garrett. Garrett will be 31 years old at the end of next season.
Although almost every Lions fan wants the supreme skill set of Garrett, it feels like a lot to give up and a lot to take on given what Detroit needs to address elsewhere.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Former NFL GM floats blockbuster Detroit Lions trade idea