Myles Garrett's bombshell announcement looks like a win-win on the surface for the Bengals
There may not be a better player the Cincinnati Bengals have to face twice year than Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, and that may not be the case next season.Garrett has officially informed the Browns that he wants to be traded off the team. In Garrett's statement, which has been shared by several insiders, […]
There may not be a better player the Cincinnati Bengals have to face twice year than Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, and that may not be the case next season.
Garrett has officially informed the Browns that he wants to be traded off the team.
In Garrett's statement, which has been shared by several insiders, the 29-year old made it clear that he wants to be traded to a team that can reasonably win a Super Bowl. The Browns, who had more quarterbacks start for them (4) than they had wins (3) last season, will be tasked with complying to his request, but will surely look to avoid sending him to one of Cleveland's rivals, like the Bengals.
"While I've loved calling this city my home, my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won't allow me to be complacent," Garrett wrote. "The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton. It has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl."
What Myles Garrett's trade request means for Cincinnati
First and foremost, this would be great for the Bengals. Even if they are a highly unlikely destination for the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and four-time All-Pro pass rusher, watching him leave the division would be enough to call the whole situation a win from their perspective. 13 of Garrett's 102.5 career sacks have been at the expense of Bengals quarterbacks. Only Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers have more career sacks against Cincinnati, per SI Bengals Talk's Jay Morrison. The former first overall pick from the 2017 NFL Draft has been a thorn in the Bengals' side for nearly a decade.
Trading Garrett away would also make the Browns worse, at least initially, from a proven talent perspective. Even if they were to net a player in return, the odds of said player being better than Garrett are extremely slim. More good news for the Bengals.
Cleveland deals with the consequences either way
The Browns would make this deal only if it meant their future would be in good hands. General manager Andrew Berry has been adamant about the club's unwillingness to deal Garrett away, and Garrett made it public late last year that he wanted to ensure the team wasn't looking to rebuild this offseason.
By going public with his trade request, we can safely assume Garrett and Berry don't see eye-to-eye about the direction of the team. Whether or not this means the Cleveland will be drafting a QB in April and going all-in on the future rather than the present remains to be seen, but you have to think the likelihood is high if Garrett now publicly wants out.
Essentially, the Browns have their eyes set on rebuilding. That was made clear when they traded Amari Cooper back in October. They may not want to trade Garrett, and certainly aren't in a rush to do, but they would have to consider doing a deal if a plethora of draft capital would be sent to them.
If they hold strong and keep Garrett this year, they'll have to deal with a disgruntled version of their best player and all the potential distractions that come with that (the Bengals know this very well after last year) on top of not having the extra picks to better their roster. If they do trade him, they'll have to eat over $16 million in dead cap and officially lock in on building towards the future. Expectations to compete with the Bengals for the AFC North won't be particularly high in that case.
Either way, the Bengals can look at what's happening in Cleveland and smile.
Duke Tobin meticulously hints at how the Bengals can re-sign Tee Higgins
Higgins is scheduled to hit free agency in March unless the Bengals can work something out.
