The Detroit Lions had a window where star edge rusher Myles Garrett was a potential trade target to supercharge their defense, but it closed just as quickly as it opened.
The Cleveland Browns restructured Garrett’s contract this week, amending the date he is owed his option bonus and creating the possibility that he could be traded at a lower cap hit to the team. Despite the immediate speculation that the Browns could be preparing to trade Garrett — and that the Lions could be a suitor — an insider threw cold water on the rumors less than a day later.
Lions Won’t Land Myles Garrett
As Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap noted, Cleveland’s financial move didn’t seem to serve much purpose other than opening the possibility that Garrett could be traded.
“The Browns don’t gain any cap room by making this move unless they actually changed the option amounts this year,” Fitzgerald wrote. “They already had the lowest cap charge possible for Garrett, outside of converting some per game bonuses to a signing bonus. All this does is give the team the maximum flexibility to trade Garrett assuming they were to get him to waive a his no trade clause. I guess there is also the soft factor of having everyone on the team have a similar exercise date.”
But ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke down the rumors on Thursday, reporting that the Browns still don’t have any plans to trade Garrett.
“I called the Browns and they said they’re 100% not trading Myles Garrett,” Schefter said.
Lions Seen as Contender for Myles Garrett
For several seasons, the Lions have been seeking a competent pass rusher to pair with star Aidan Hutchinson. While the team has found some strong performances, they have not found a permanent answer to the depth problem.
Garrett was seen as a home-run option for the Lions, with former NFL general manager turned ESPN analyst Mike Tannenbaum suggesting in February that Detroit could make a run at him.
“[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.”
Even before Schefter’s report this week that the Browns are holding onto Garrett, other insiders have suggested there was never any substance to the trade rumors. ESPN’s Dan Graziano noted earlier this offseason that there were no actual rumblings that Cleveland wanted to deal him.
“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,” Graziano reported. “It doesn’t sound like they are.”
The Lions have been connected to some other big targets, including Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby. Given Lions general manager Brad Holmes’ emphasis on building through the draft and avoiding splashy moves, it could be more likely that the team addresses the position in the NFL draft.
Lions Get Immediate Answer on Myles Garrett Trade Rumors