At NFL league meetings beginning Sunday, owner Jimmy Haslam and GM Andrew Berry will explain their intention not to trade Myles Garrett despite a contract modification that made a deal easier.
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Editor’s note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
The Browns are denying that their modifications of Myles Garrett’s contract, which headlined NFL news inside and outside the league on Wednesday, have anything to do with an intention to trade him.
“We ain’t trading Myles,” a Browns source texted to 850 ESPN Cleveland radio host Emmett Golden.
Team officials will comment at NFL owners meetings beginning Sunday in Phoenix, AZ, on why they asked Garrett to agree to contract modifications that make him eminently more tradeable, yet don’t intend to trade him.
Maybe they will also articulate their plan to turn around a team that is 8-26 over two seasons and has fallen further behind other languishing teams that have stocked up on draft picks over the next two seasons in hopes of cashing in on the expected “historic” quarterback draft of 2027.
Since they fired head coach Kevin Stefanski and replaced him with 60-year-old first-time head coach Todd Monken, the Browns have had an unspectacular transaction season. They also hard-balled defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz into a one-year exile after he resigned when bypassed for the head coach job.
The Browns’ biggest player moves were adding three veteran offensive linemen – two will be 30 years old during the 2026 season -- and a linebacker. They still have no clarity at left tackle and center -- the offensive line’s two most vital positions – and have not added a receiver to play opposite Jerry Jeudy.
Their conspicuous inaction at quarterback leaves the starting position up for grabs via an open competition among Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel – who combined for the lowest quarterback ratings of any active passers over the past three seasons.
Trading Garrett for a bushel of high draft picks would facilitate a much-needed rebuild as owner Jimmy Haslam attempts to sell costly personal seat licenses to help fund his $2.5 billion indoor stadium in Brook Park.
If the Browns would just explore that possibility at the league meetings, they would find multiple suitors for Garrett.
If they changed their mind, they would have to deal only with Super Bowl contenders for Garrett to waive the no-trade clause the Browns generously gave him in his four-year contract extension last season.
They also would be wise to limit their negotiations only with teams in the NFC, so that Garrett could not help an AFC team haunt the Browns in the event they met in a future AFC playoff game.
With those restrictions in mind, here are some potential trade partners for the Browns, along with their current arsenal of high draft picks in the 2026 and 2027 drafts.
1. Dallas Cowboys
This is such an obvious match for a trade. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, 83, is running out of time to end his 31-year Super Bowl drought and is still dodging barbs from trading pass rusher Micah Parsons to Green Bay last year. The Cowboys made two offers for Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby but were outbid by the Ravens, who eventually rescinded because of concerns about Crosby’s long-term health. Bringing Garrett back home to Texas, where he grew up a few miles from AT&T Stadium and played at Texas A&M, would create the buzz Jones lives for. The Cowboys have a high-powered offense that was submarined by the league’s 30th-ranked defense in yards and 32nd in points allowed.
2026 first and second day picks: No. 12, No. 20, No. 92.
2027: Green Bay’s first, own second and own third.
2. Philadelphia Eagles
Howie Roseman, whom Berry considers the league’s best GM after serving one year under him in 2019, needs an elite pass rusher to complete his Super Bowl-contending team after losing Jaelen Phillips in free agency. The Eagles are too far down in the first round to fill that need with an elite pass rusher in the draft. They were rumored to have inquired about Garrett last year when he demanded a trade, then took the bag to stay in Cleveland.
2026 first and second day picks: No. 23, No. 54, No. 68, No. 98.
2027: Their own first, second and third.
3. Chicago Bears
On the rise as quarterback Caleb Williams ascends into his third season, the Bears have one big splash contract to give while Williams remains on his rookie deal. Although opportunistic in takeaways in their surprise division-winning season, the Bears had one of the league’s worst pass rushes among playoff teams.
2026 first and second day picks: No. 25, No. 57, No. 89.
2027: Their own first, second and third.
4. Detroit Lions
The Lions have been searching for a rush complement to Aidan Hutchinson for three years. Their Super Bowl window hinges on completing their defense to support an offense that is among the league’s best.
2026 first and second day picks: No. 17, No. 50.
2027: Their own first, second and third.
5. San Francisco 49ers
Pairing Garrett with edge rusher Nick Bosa would keep the 49ers on the heels of rivals Seattle and the Rams in the league’s most competitive division. They did trade their 2026 third-round pick to Dallas for defensive end Osa Odighizuwa.
2026 first and second day picks: No. 27, No. 58.
2027: Their own first, second and third.