Commanders' dream trade has already been shut down and the offseason hasn't even officially started yet
While the Washington Commanders' season ended with an embarrassing thud, the offseason holds so much potential and opportunity for the team to improve it's not even funny.The Commanders currently have seven draft picks and over $87.5 million in cap space. With Jayden Daniels' contract set in, as well as several other key players, Adam Peters […]
While the Washington Commanders' season ended with an embarrassing thud, the offseason holds so much potential and opportunity for the team to improve it's not even funny.
The Commanders currently have seven draft picks and over $87.5 million in cap space. With Jayden Daniels' contract set in, as well as several other key players, Adam Peters and Dan Quinn can really pick their spots when it comes to bringing guys in, extending/re-signing guys on the roster, or whatever the proper context that involves building the roster over the next few months.
One of the spots that could use improvement is defensive end. Even with Dante Fowler Jr.'s 10.5 sack campaign and Dorance Armstrong's steady play, the Commanders defense could really use a high-end pass rusher on its side of the ball.
A really popular idea/candidate to bring in is that of Myles Garrett, 2023's Defensive Player of the Year. Garrett is coming off his fourth-straight season with at least 14.0 sacks and is a top candidate to win the DPOY award for the second-straight year, but he's not very thrilled with the Cleveland Browns' current situation as a team and he made it known toward the end of the year.
"First of all I want to win, and want the Browns to be able to put me and us in a position to win," Garrett told reporters back in December. “I’m not trying to rebuild. I’m trying to win right now. And I want that to be apparent when the season's over and we have those discussions. I want them to be able to illuminate, illustrate that for me so that can be something I can see in the near future. Because that’s all we want to do. . .
". . . "I want to stay loyal to a team that showed loyalty to me and faith in me by drafting me, but we have to do, at the end of the day, what's best for us."
Garrett makes a ton of sense in Washington and he'd be a really good fit, so it's easy to see why a lot of people are connecting the dots, here. However, it's not going to happen based off what Browns general manager Andrew Berry told reporters on Tuesday:
It's certainly a bummer, but it's probably better for the Commanders, this way. Acquiring Garrett would be astronomically expensive and Washington still has several holes to fill and positions to upgrade on its roster. Trading for Garrett would take away the vast majority of resources, a lot of it in the form of draft capital. Based off the Commanders' 2024 draft class, it's probably best to trust in Peters and Co. because odds are they'll produce another solid crop of picks.
And, if the Commanders were to acquire Garrett, they'd have to pay him a rough average of $22.4 million per year and while that is cash that can be converted and subsequently prorated, again, the Commanders could find more efficient ways of using the money.
This would be a great move in a perfect world and even in a non-perfect world, but it doesn't look like the Browns are budging in their stance, so it's best to go ahead and shut this one down and look elsewhere.
There’s one obvious but significant factor that can keep the Commanders from bringing back one of their best players
A big part of the Washington Commanders' success was bringing in experienced, affordable veterans who had not only produced good tape throughout their careers – they knew what head coach Dan Quinn was all about and could help build the foundation and culture that's required to have success in the NFL. One such guy was […]
