The NBA saw a shocking trade over the weekend with Luka Dončić heading to the Los Angeles Lakers. Could the NFL be the next league to feature a superstar swap?
Myles Garrett has let it be known he wants to play elsewhere next season -- and preferably for a contender. The Cleveland Browns said recently they're not inclined to move their All-Pro pass rusher, but will they hold firm on that stance? If they don't, Garrett's availability will spawn a feeding frenzy for his services. The reality is that 31 other teams would love to have the 29-year-old game wrecker on their roster, prompting me to take an early stab at identifying which ones make the most sense in a potential deal.
The trade return for one of the game's best defensive players would be considerable, and any team dealing for Garrett also must be able to afford him. (He has two seasons left on his five-year, $125 million contract, but such a trade could also induce a mega extension.) That slims down the list a bit. You won't find the Dallas Cowboys below, even if Garrett is a Texas native and the idea of pairing him with Micah Parsons is the stuff football dreams are made of. And despite the fact that they certainly could use this caliber of defensive upgrade, the Buffalo Bills aren't included in my rundown, either, as salary-cap woes likely keep them out of the running for now. I also left every other AFC North team off the list. It's hard to imagine that the Browns would trade Garrett within the division, given how many other teams could make quality offers.
Garrett's trade request was well-timed, leading into Super Bowl LIX week. Radio row is surely to be abuzz with Garrett trade chatter. Sources will be sourcing all week.
Without further ado, here are nine practical landing spots for the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year.
If the Lions' defensive concerns run deeper than just the rash of injuries they suffered down the stretch, then adding one of the NFL's premier defenders could be an option. They've already lost Aaron Glenn this offseason, so giving new defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard a blue-chip piece up front might not be the worst idea ever hatched. The Lions could make it work, cost-wise, they appear entrenched as contenders for the foreseeable future, and GM Brad Holmes has never backed down from making risky, franchise-altering moves.
It's hard not to drool at the possibility of Aidan Hutchinson rushing from one side of the line and Garrett crashing in from the other. The NFC North is loaded with electric offenses. Garrett & Hutch would give the Lions the best edge duo in the NFL (not to mention, elite buddy-cop skit potential).
General manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn deserve infinite praise for how they reconstructed and coached up Washington's roster in Year 1, leading to a 12-5 season that few saw coming. However, it ended with a thud in Philadelphia, as the Commanders allowed 55 points while underscoring the team's biggest weakness it could no longer hide.
Dante Fowler Jr. had 10.5 sacks in one of his best seasons, but he's a free agent who turns 31 in this coming summer, and there's a reason he's been a hired gun over the past few years. Garrett is a vastly better player all around, and he'd headline a heck of a front alongside DTs Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne. Watching the success Quinn had with Micah Parsons in Dallas opens up the possibilities of what the coach could do with a different but equally impactful defender in Garrett.
It's debatable whether the Cardinals are true contenders, although they were sitting at 6-4 and in first place heading out of their bye week before crumbling down the stretch this past season. Arizona forged its way to 41 sacks, scheming up pressure well, but no Cardinals defender had more than Zaven Collins' team-leading tally of five. The Cards also struggled to contain the run, an oft-overlooked element of Garrett's game.
The Cardinals have the draft capital and funds to make such a move, even if they also need to add CB help and more weapons for Kyler Murray this offseason. But you know Jonathan Gannon would love to have the kind of firepower Garrett could supply, pairing him opposite 2024 first-rounder Darius Robinson on what would be a remade Arizona front.
The Bears' pass rush -- and defense as a whole -- was a disappointment this season. They had 40 sacks, which put them around the middle of the pack in the league, but their leading sacker (Montez Sweat) had just 5.5 of them. It's not hard to see how Garrett would provide an upgrade up front, especially given Chicago's issues against the run, too.
GM Ryan Poles has the assets (three picks in the top 41 overall in 2025) and the money to spend. Bears fans certainly would love to have Garrett after watching him notch a career-high 4.5 sacks (in just 37 snaps) in a game against Chicago in 2021. But new head coach Ben Johnson also needs to build around QB Caleb Williams this offseason, especially on the offensive line. Would a Garrett trade hinder those efforts?
Once upon a time, the Packers signed Reggie White to one of the most shocking free agency coups in franchise history, ultimately helping Green Bay win Super Bowl XXXI, as the pass rusher racked up three sacks on the game's biggest stage. Trading for Garrett this offseason could be equally as historic -- and it would be just as shocking.
Would GM Brian Gutekunst give up the draft capital necessary to make such a move? That's debatable. Then again, Gutekunst recently lamented his team's lack of pass rush, saying he ideally wanted to pressure more without having to blitz heavily. Adding Garrett would be an easy fix -- albeit an expensive one. He might be able to unlock some of the young pass-rush talent already on the roster, too.
You can never count out the Eagles and Trader Howie Roseman on a deal, especially when a name with the heft of MYLES GARRETT comes available. Roseman has made several impactful deals during his run in Philadelphia, including the A.J. Brown theft, so it'd feel foolish to leave the Eagles off this list.
The results of Super Bowl LIX surely could impact the odds of a Garrett-to-Philly deal, with a loss to the Chiefs probably increasing the chances of it happening. But Roseman also never has rested on his laurels, and the Eagles could have the makings of another monstrous pass rush -- like they had on the Super Bowl team in 2022 -- with Garrett onboard.
The Chargers actually ranked eighth in sack percentage this past season, but there are some concerns. Joey Bosa had an injury-plagued season and could be a cut candidate this offseason. Khalil Mack still played at a high level but is headed for free agency and will turn 34 this month.
Trading for Garrett would allow the Bolts to move on from both players if desired, giving coordinator Jesse Minter another weapon up front and making the defense younger in that area, too. Even if we assume Mack isn't back in this scenario, an edge combo of Garrett and Tuli Tuipulotu would work pretty well in the rough-and-tumble AFC West.
The Falcons make good sense as a potential Garrett destination. They reside in the wide-open NFC South. They're in a dome, playing in more favorable conditions than the harsh winters of Cleveland. Atlanta also has a defensive-minded head coach in Raheem Morris and remains -- for the past several seasons -- in need of pass-rush help.
We probably need to see what happens with Kirk Cousins and what the financial ramifications will be, as the Falcons are projected to be more than eight figures over the salary cap. They can cut salaries to help clear space, but they're lower on this list because it would take clearing some major hurdles just to get in position to potentially execute such a move.
This might be the longest-shot team on the list from one perspective, as Garrett has said he wants to play for a contender, and the 4-13 Patriots have a long way to go to get back to being that. But Mike Vrabel is the head coach now in New England, having spent last season on the Browns' staff and knowing full well how much Garrett has left in the tank. Vrabel even went on a podcast last summer and hinted at the idea of using Garrett in goal-line packages.
The Patriots badly need impact players up front and might not be able to land a top-tier pass rusher in the draft, even with the No. 4 overall pick. They have more than $100 million in cap space and could offer Garrett a lucrative extension. Now the question becomes whether Garrett would want to go to New England.
