Bengals manage to sneak their way into the Myles Garrett trade, and they’re not alone
The Cincinnati Bengals have a chance to impact the Myles Garrett trade in the long run, but only if they decide they want to do what the Los Angeles Rams just did.
The Cincinnati Bengals have a chance to impact the Myles Garrett trade in the long run.
Garrett was traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Verse, and three draft picks including L.A.’s 2029 third-round pick.
Per Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, that third-rounder becomes a first-rounder if Garrett is traded back to the AFC North, including the Bengals.
Cleveland clearly doesn’t want to face Garrett twice a year in the near future, and reasonably so. The two-time Defensive Player of the Year has a case for being the best player in the entire NFL. He’s now 30 years old, but showing no signs of slowing down. It’s why the Rams traded three picks and a former first-rounder in Verse to get him.
There’s now an added cost in the Bengals ever acquiring Myles Garrett
Trading for Garrett has never really been on Cincinnati’s radar. It’s one thing to call the Browns up and ask for Joe Flacco after he was benched for a rookie quarterback. It’s another thing entirely to inquire about their real franchise player.
Would the Bengals ever send Joe Burrow up I-71? Of course not. Same principle.
Now that he’s out of the division, Cleveland is making sure if any of its rivals want to trade for Garrett before the 2029 draft, the Browns are getting a top-32 in return instead of a pick in the 65-96 range.
That seems to be the real detractor here. The Rams giving up a first-rounder in a trade would just be business as usual for them. If this condition is supposed to keep them from sending Garrett back to the AFC North, I don’t think it’ll be enough to stop them for the right return package.
The Bengals trading significant draft capital for a player like Garrett was a completely laughable concept a few months ago. The Dexter Lawrence trade has certainly changed what is now possible, but even that didn’t help out a hated rival.
Garrett could eventually be moved by L.A. in time, but this all but ensures he won’t be traded to Cincy.