‘Surprising’ Los Angeles Chargers one of the Potential Trade Destinations for Myles Garrett
It’s time for Myles Garrett to jump ship. All-star defensive end Myles Garrett has requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns. Garett has spent 8 years in the NFL making a name for himself and becoming one of the best edge rushers in the league. However, the Cleveland Browns have only made the playoffs twice in the last 20 years (2023, 2020).
Garrett, 29 years old, has spent his entire career dominating the NFL. He is a 6x Pro Bowler, 4x All-Pro, and former Defensive Player of the Year (2023). He’s coming off one of his best years finishing second in total sacks (14.0), 3 forced fumbles, and led the league with a PFF pass-rush grade (92.8).
Though the Browns have made it publicly known that they are not seeking any trade proposals and want to extend Garrett’s contract, there are a few teams that could benefit from this addition.
Detroit Lions
The Lions are coming off one of their best seasons in centuries. Their only problem? Injuries. A very key injury they faced this past season was losing star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, breaking two bones in his leg in a week 6 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Even after losing a key player for the remainder of the season, the Lions still found a way to win the NFC North and reach the divisional round in the playoffs. After falling short to the Commanders in the Divisional round of the playoffs, the Lions should look to add star edge rusher Myles Garrett to reach where they got this past season and more.
The Lions are currently able to afford the addition of Myles Garrett with the team currently having $46.5 million in cap space. With this addition, the Lions defensive line would be one of the best, if not the best, in the league for the 2025 season. Pairing Myles Garrett and Aidan Hutchinson at the edges, plus two big men pushing the pocket in D.J. Reader and Levi Onwuzurike.
Washington Commanders
The 2024 Washington Commanders are not the same Washington team we have seen in the past years. This team is young and hungry. They are coming off an incredible year behind coach Dan Quinn and GM Adam Peters. If there is any time for these two to attack it’s now.
What other better way to attack than to go after star Myles Garrett? There should be no question if GM Adam Peters is rushing to his phone to contact the Browns. The only flaw in this is that the Commanders potentially lose star defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. Fowler is coming off a gigantic year, leading the team in sacks (10.5) He is set to hit free agency in 2025.
The Commanders are currently pretty wealthy in the cap space department having just about $80 million in cap space. They can afford to give Fowler a small raise and still bring in Myles Garrett to further juice that already-star defense. Bring in Garrett, and put him on the line with Daron Payne, Dorance Armstrong, and Johnathan Allen, that defensive line, on its own, would bring the Commanders right back to where they were this season, possibly the Super Bowl.
Los Angeles Chargers
Finishing out these few teams are the LA Chargers. They are my only AFC team on this list and here’s why. The last team the Cleveland Browns would ever think to send Garrett to is an AFC team, but that isn’t going to stop the Chargers.
The LA Chargers rank fourth in cap space in the NFL ($73 million) They currently have the money to acquire Garrett, however, they are going to be at risk of losing key players. With one being Khalil Mack facing the free agency market, the Chargers would have to risk losing key players.
The Chargers should absolutely take this risk. Let's face it Khalil Mack is the older option out of the two and just isn’t who he once was. Garrett hasn’t lost a beat since being drafted into the NFL. Coach Jim Harbaugh and Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter are on the verge of a great defense, all they need is a star player to partner with Joey Bosa on that defensive line. This addition would propel the LA Chargers and keep them in the race with an already stacked AFC West.
