The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need some serious edge-rusher help heading into next season. And as it turns out, the NFL's best edge rusher has just requested a trade.
There have been rumors about it all offseason, but Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett officially requested a trade from the Browns on Monday. The Browns reportedly won't budge on the request, but you know how that goes — they'll certainly be getting some calls.
Here's Garrett's official statement on the matter this morning:
Of course, with a need at edge rusher, the Bucs would be a strong contender to land Garrett — if they decide to pursue him. So should they? Before we answer that question, we'd probably need to figure out what he'd actually be worth.
Garrett is an exceptional player who could downright change the trajectory of a team. He's a four-time First Team All-Pro, was the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year last year and has netted a staggering 60 sacks in his last four seasons. It's hard to even pinpoint what it would take to land a player like that, but there has been some chatter Monday about what that could be. Take it from the Athletic's Dianna Russini here:
That's a lot of capital. It somewhat mirrors Khalil Mack's trade to the Chicago Bears in 2018 — that trade cost the Bears two first-round picks, a third and a sixth, but they got a second-round pick in return. As it stands, the Buccaneers are only missing a sixth-round pick, so they could probably do something similar to that. It would take a lot, but Garrett is a player that commands it.
And then, you have to pay him.
Garrett has no guaranteed money left on his contract. Right now, he's making around $25 million a year, which is around nine million less than what Nick Bosa is making on his current deal at $34 million a year. Spotrac often estimates market value for marquee players, and for Garrett, they estimate it at a similar value of $34.3 million. That's quite a bit of money, and again, while Garrett is worth it, the first part of that equation is having it. There's a very real possibility that Garrett would command more than Bosa, so teams will have to prepare accordingly.
As it stands, the Buccaneers have $2,239,732 in cap space. That doesn't seem like a lot, but any contender can make room for a guy like Garrett, and there's plenty to do to open that number wide open. Cutting cap casualties (Jamel Dean, perhaps), extending players like Mike Evans and Luke Goedeke and restructuring contracts of players like Baker Mayfield, Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tristan Wirfs will also be options. If the Bucs want to get the money for Garrett, they can certainly make it happen.
And now, the golden question:
This is complicated. In short, yes — Garrett is a gamechanger, and if he's willing to come to Tampa Bay and the Browns are actually picking up the phone. It would take a lot, but Buccaneers GM Jason Licht knows that making a big splash can win a Super Bowl, if that's what it takes.
There would be some consequences, though. First of all, the Bucs have free agents of their own to re-sign, the biggest being wide receiver Chris Godwin. If the Buccaneers want Godwin back, they'll need to pay him over $20 million a year, and landing Myles Garrett would probably put a wrench in that plan. They'll need to think about that when trying to make a big trade like this.
Additionally, there are cheaper options that are still productive. If the Bucs wanted to make a huge splash in their pass rush without spending quite as much money, it may be worth it to call the Cincinnati Bengals instead, as Trey Hendrickson could be available for trade and would only cost around $22.5 million a year, for Spotrac.
Finally, even if the Bucs should make an effort to do this, it's unlikely. Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht loves his draft picks, and giving up multiple first-round picks is not his style. Licht has never been one to spend lots of draft capital to get a proven commodity, and as a result, it would be unusual for the Bucs to go after Garrett in this manner.
We'll see how things shape out. The Buccaneers should certainly call the Browns about Garrett, but whether or not they will is another matter entirely.
