The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl in large part because of the pass rush generated by their front four against the Kansas Chiefs offense — and the prowess of that unit could hypothetically grow next year.
Philadelphia has plenty of free agents on the defensive side of the football, including edge rusher Josh Sweat and defensive end Milton Williams, which might lead the Eagles to high levels of activity this offseason with regards to the pass rush.
With that in mind, Dan Graziano of ESPN on Sunday, March 2, named the Eagles as one of the two most likely trade suitors for Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett.
“If the Browns do ever get serious about trading Garrett, I’d expect Buffalo and Philadelphia to be two of the most aggressive pursuers,” Graziano wrote.
Garrett has already requested a trade and turned down an invitation to negotiate a contract extension with the Browns, despite two years remaining on his $125 million contract.
However, Cleveland continues to hold firmly to its position that it won’t deal Garrett. General manager Andrew Berry said publicly just before Garrett’s trade ask in early February that the team wouldn’t even entertain an offer of two first-round picks for the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year, who has tallied 102.5 sacks across his eight-year NFL career.
“Our stance really has not changed,” Berry told reporters at the combine last week. “We can’t imagine a situation where not having Myles as a part of the organization is best for the Browns. So I just want to hit that off the top.”
Even if the Browns do change their minds on dealing Garrett, the financial implications of that move make it highly likely that it wouldn’t happen until after June 1, so that the franchise could spread the dead cap hit out across two years instead of eating it all at once.
Graziano speculated it may take until the start of the regular season in September for Cleveland to even consider budging, despite the chance to potentially get back multiple first-round picks in a deal.
“The Browns may not feel compelled to honor Garrett’s trade request until they become convinced he won’t play for them, and it’s going to be hard for him to convince them of that before they get to the regular season and see whether he’s truly willing to miss real games,” Graziano wrote.