The Cleveland Browns have said all the right things about wanting to keep Myles Garrett in town. They have assured fans that their proposal to change the rule on trading draft picks five years into the future wasn’t related to their reworked contract with Garrett.
The new deal makes Garrett’s gargantuan $160 million contract much more tradeable, as it pushes back his bonus dates by 6 months. However, people have heard teams vow not to trade their best players just days before doing so.
Considering that, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport chose the New England Patriots as a logical trade destination. While teams don’t usually trade stars in their own conference, Mike Vrabel’s team has a clear need for a star pass rusher:
“With quarterback Drake Maye still on his rookie deal, the Patriots cap situation is as good as it’s going to get for a while—with over $35 million in wiggle room, the Pats have the sixth-most cap space in the league. The team could also stand to improve the pass-rush—while New England had a respectable 48 sacks as a team, but they also lost edge-rusher K’Lavon Chaisson in free agency,” Davenport explained.
Of course, that doesn’t mean it will be easy. As many as 12 teams might be interested in Garrett if he were to be available, and Drake Maye is the Patriots’ only trade chip that might interest the Browns. He’s clearly off limits, so the Patriots would have to give up multiple first-round selections to even start a conversation:
“Again, New England doesn’t really have a player to include in the trade that Cleveland would covet (even if some fans would like to throw tackle Will Campbell in), so the cost in picks would be steep. But if the Patriots are serious about winning the AFC again in 2026, it could be a price worth paying. And Maye would no doubt be glad to have Garrett on his side. He sacked Maye five times last year,” he added.
That said, Garrett has established himself as the best defensive player in the world, and some may argue that he’s the best player in the league.
He’s a league-wrecking headhunter who takes over games like no other defensive player, and if the Patriots are serious about getting back to the mountaintop, the timing is perfect before they have to pay Maye with abig contract extension.