It’s a deal the Browns would certainly take. But would the 49ers need to shell out that type of draft capital?
On Monday, Cleveland Browns edge rusher and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett formally requested a trade. It’s not the NBA, so players don’t get what they want. But it’s also not just any other player asking out.
Trading Garrett gives the Browns an easy out to press the reset button, recoup assets, and start over. Leverage might be an issue for Cleveland, which drops the asking price for any potential trade.
But in any potential bidding wars, the Browns will undoubtedly take the best offer available, and there shouldn’t be any shortage of said offers.
What would a San Francisco 49ers offer look like? The Athletic’s Matt Barrows proposed a deal that would send the Niners’ 2025 and 2026 first-round picks, along with Jake Moody, to Cleveland in exchange for Garrett:
San Francisco 49ers
Browns get: 2025 first-round pick (No. 11), 2026 first-round pick and kicker Jake Moody
49ers get: Garrett
With Garrett on one side of the defensive line and Nick Bosa on the other, the 49ers would resemble the 2015 Denver Broncos, who won Super Bowl 50 in large part because they had a pair of excellent edge rushers in Miller and DeMarcus Ware. The Broncos won that Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium. Any guesses as to where next year’s Super Bowl will be held? (Answer: Levi’s Stadium).
Yes, trading away first-round picks means the 49ers can say goodbye to drafting Trent Williams’ replacement at left tackle or snagging one of the top defensive tackles in this year’s draft. The 49ers also would have to weigh trading for an established edge rusher like Garrett against taking a young one — say, Georgia’s Mykel Williams — in April.
And we’re serious about Moody. He’s from the upper Midwest and probably could use a change of scenery after he struggled in the second half of his second season in San Francisco. The only full-time kicker with a worse field goal percentage than him last season is the Browns’ Dustin Hopkins.
Ideally, the 49ers would offer multiple Day 2 picks instead of an additional first-rounder. While it’s true that cap space isn’t an issue this season, having a top draft pick on a rookie contract for four and potentially five years is how you restock the talent cupboard and maintain financial flexibility to continue signing free agents in the offseason.
What do you make of Barrows’s trade proposal? Too rich? Is it worth it for a Hall of Fame edge rusher?