The sports world has been absolutely insane the last few days. First, the Mavericks traded Luka Donic to the Lakers, and now Cleveland Browns All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett has asked to be traded.
This is no doubt going to have every team in the NFL trying to make a deal with the Browns to get Garrett to them. The Detroit Lions will be nop exception here. They’ve already shown interest in acquiring very pricey edge rushers this year. The Lions reached out to the Raiders to see if they would trade Maxx Crosby.
So if the Lions wanted to make a move for Garrett, what would that cost in terms of assets traded away and new contract-wise? Let’s start with the trade.
This is a big one and it’s not going to be super cheap at all. This is going to have to be your classic “F-them picks” type of move. But in return, you get a guy that can help you win multiple Super Bowls. This is a win-now move if there ever was one.
The only trade that we can really compare it to is the 2018 trade that sent Khalil Mack from the Raiders to the Bears. That saw the Bears giving up multiple first-round picks. The Lions are going to have to do that. Here’s our proposal:
Lions get: Myles Garrett. Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round pick
Browns get: 2025 first-round pick, 2026 first-round pick, 2025 third-round pick, and Hendon Hooker
Like I said, it’s not going to be cheap. This is a win-now move and win-now moves mean you have to sacrifice a little btt of win-later to make it happen. The Lions aren’t going to draft a player that is going to be Myles Garrett right away. It’s worth it to make this move.
In terms of Hooker and Thompson-Robinson, the Lions get a younger backup with more upside and the Browns get a quarterback that they can try to play right now while they go through their rebuild. Especially since Deshaun Watson is not likely to be back this year and may just be cut altogether.
In terms of contracts, Garrett is under contract for two more seasons and he’s going to be looking for an extension pretty soon. The Lions are going to have to extend Aidan Hutchinson and he’ll likely be the highest-paid edge rusher in the league. They may have to make Garrett the second-highest pass rusher in the league right after that.
We’re potentially talking about two edger rushers making upwards of $40 million a year each. The Lions can make that happen., but it may be at the expense of losing some players to free agency. Again, this is a win-now move and if the Lions make this move, they will win now. We’ll have to sit back and see who makes the move. Do not rule the Lions out on this one.
