With the trade deadline only four days away and the Browns potentially looking to flip veterans for draft picks in order to offset the lingering complications of the Deshaun Watson contract, some have suggested a trade of defensive end Myles Garrett.
While such a move would result in a haul of draft picks, it also would spark a significant cap charge in 2025.
The total bonus acceleration for the next cap year would be $62.976 million.
While not impossible to navigate, the Browns are currently looking at a $72.935 million cap charge for the Watson deal in 2025. They owe him $92 million in cash for 2025 and 2026.
Keeping Garrett means a cap number of $19.722 million cap number for 2025 — more than $40 million less than the charge for trading him.
While a Garrett trade isn’t impossible, they’d need to get enough in return to justify the cap chaos coming from the combined consequences of the Watson contract and a Garrett trade. And they arguably need to maximize draft picks in order to have cheap, young talent at a time when millions will be devoted to Watson, whether he’s on the team or not.
