Now That the Super Bowl is over, it’s time to fix the Browns and make them a contender for 2025. The first two questions that need to be resolved are what to do about Myles Garrett and finding a franchise quarterback. I’ve expressed my opinion on both subjects, but now that it’s officially the off-season, I’ll reiterate my thoughts.
First, if the Browns trade Myles Garrett it will destroy the team’s salary cap for the next two years. I doesn’t matter what the local and national media says. It doesn’t matter what former player and current Hall of Famer Joe Thomas says. It really doesn’t matter what Myles Garrett says. Facts are facts, trading Garrett will devastate the Browns roster and spending ability for the next couple of years. Salary cap expert Jack Duffin (http://@JackDuffin) estimates a trade would reduce the Browns spending power in 2025 by over $60 million. Because of this lack of funds Jack Conklin and Wyatt Teller would have to be cut, Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome would have to be traded, and Nick Chubb couldn’t be resigned. This is the business reality because the NFL is a business. Always has been, always will be.
You could blame the current situation on the decision to trade for Deshaun Watson. At the time the Browns were desperate for a franchise quarterback and no I’m not going to use revisionist history to relitigate the Baker Mayfield situation. He forced his own exit due to immaturity and thinking he was more important than the team. By the way, Garrett was for the Watson trade and getting rid of Baker. In 2022, the free agent market for quarterbacks was bad, (Marcus Mariota, Teddy Bridgewater, Mitch Trubisky) and the draft class was just as bad, (Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis). The Browns swung for the fences, as a group, they felt they had to. Now in 2025, they have a plan to get out from under the thumb of the Watson contract. He won’t play another down for the Browns and will be off the roster by the start of the league year in 2027. A Myles Garrett trade would force the Browns to extend him again and keep him on the roster. No thank you.
Speaking of the quarterback situation, this draft class is not great. The top two players have faults and right now, aren’t worth the value of the number two overall pick. You don’t take a quarterback that high just for the sake of taking a quarterback. Mitch Trubisky, Trey Lance, Josh Rosen and Justin Fields come to mind. You have to find the right one. Everyone is praising the Eagles front office while criticizing Andrew Berry for modeling the Browns team building strategy after the Eagles. Remember, the Eagles drafted Jalen Hurts the year after drafting Carson Wentz. There’s a ton of luck involved when drafting a QB. If neither Ward nor Sanders are that guy, then don’t set the franchise back again. Not drafting either isn’t over thinking the situation, drafting one when you shouldn’t is over thinking the situation.
A Myles Garrett trade would force the Browns into drafting a quarterback at two. They wouldn’t have the funds to sign a veteran quarterback and draft a developmental player later in the draft. The last and only time Andrew Berry was forced to draft a position in the draft resulted in Jedrick Wills. Joe Thomas loved that pick. Garrett recently said on ESPN that he agreed with the Browns future plans but still wanted to be traded and would do “whatever it takes” to make it happen He can’t do anything; this is a load of crap. There’s nothing he nor his agents can do to help the Browns facilitate a trade, because of the last extension he willingly signed. The only way to move forward successfully, is to make Garrett the highest paid defensive player in the league with a $200 million contract and focus on the plan. A rebuild is not in the team’s best interests. Stay safe and Go Browns.