Philly Front Office

Yesterday rumors of the Eagles’ interest in Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns picked up steam. Not only was he seen incredibly frustrated in the sidelines of his team’s latest loss, but the Eagles desperately need help with their pass rush. Did I mention Garrett had 5 sacks on Sunday? It’s not hard to connect the dots.

I initially dismissed it out of hand, just more radio drivel designed for reaction over reporting. Well, since I love contracts, I decided to look up the recent deal Garrett signed in the off season just to confirm to myself that a trade would not be possible. To my surprise, I found just the opposite. It was like looking at old letters and discovering a long held family secret. Not only is Garrett tradeable, but it looks like his contract was designed specifically to get him out of Dodge. Let’s look into it.

The Contract

Over the off-season, Myles Garrett demanded a trade. Of course, he didn’t really want to be traded, he just wanted an early contract extension. It’s more lucrative to get a deal at age 29 than 31 and he knew it. Despite some Eagles fans (me included) getting our hopes up, Garrett signed a 4/$160m extension despite having 2 years left on his current 5/$125m contract. Thinking it was structured like most deals, with a high signing bonus that could be spread through the life of the dealb but making it near impossible to trade, I never thought about Garrett again. I was wrong.

It turns out the deal is not like the others because the signing bonus only reached $21m. That changes everything! Instead of a huge dead salary cap figure, it will be relatively small making the contract moveable.

Now because of some old money on the deal, a trade won’t be completely painless. The Browns will still have around $41m in dead cap next year but nothing after that. A trade would have to really blow them away.

The Trade

How much is “blow them away” any how? Easy enough, let’s look at what it cost to get Micah Parsons at the beginning of the season. In exchange for a 26 year old pass rusher in need of a massive extension, the Packers gave the Cowboys two first round picks and 30-year-old DT Kenny Clark. It’s important to know that Clark had signed an extension the previous year which wouldn’t kick in until this year. He only costs close to the minimum this year and can be released in the off season with no penalty. There’s also the Khalil Mack trade back in 2018 where the 27-year-old former DPOY went from the Raiders to the Bears for 2 firsts and a swap of a 2 for a 3 to offset (2 going to Bears, 3 to the Raiders). Mack also signed a massive extension with the deal.

This isn’t apples to oranges, but more like a Granny Smith to a Honeycrisp. The big differences are that Garrett is about to be 30 and he already signed his extension. The age part might not be a big deal today because Garrett is playing at such a high level, but the odds of him lasting the full contract at that level are slim. As for the contract, this is why the Eagles would be so interested.

Garrett’s cap hit this season would be negligible. Next year, however, things aren’t nearly as bad as you’d think. The deal has a $29m option bonus for 2026 that spreads over the next 5 years. His cap hit would come in only around $8m. In 2027, that option bonus jumps to $40m and is fully guaranteed. This means a cap hit of around $16m. In 2028, it drops to $21m, meaning a cap hit of around $20m. For our purposes, this is where his contract likely ends. He has non-guaranteed salaries of close to $40m in 2029 and 2030. If the Eagles cut bait at this point, they are looking at a dead cap hit of around $52m, though they could spread that over two years as a post-June 1 cut. For a player like Garrett, these numbers are VERY easy to swallow, especially with an ever-increasing salary cap.

• 2026 – $8m cap hit
• 2027 – $16m cap hit
• 2028 – $20m cap hit
• 2029 – $52m dead money ($18m in 2029 and $34m in 2030)

For the Eagles

The rumor has been that the Eagles would give up 3 first round picks to acquire Garrett. Considering the precedent is 2 firsts, you are probably thinking why should we give up an extra first to get a guy so much older? The reasons are twofold. First, we are dealing with other teams. You, me, Howie, and the Eagles aren’t the only people who know about Garrett’s contract. Because the Browns were the ones to put pen to paper, it’s a steal for everyone else. Second, we not only have to buy the Browns out of their financial obligation, but we have some of the worst currency to use. Eagles picks are inherently less valuable than damn near the rest of the league. If someone like Indy was offering 2 firsts and a 3rd, they might like that over 3 picks likely in the 30s. KC and Buffalo would be in the same boat.

Could you imagine though? Garrett, a DPOY candidate right now, would join Nolan Smith and Jalen Carter on the Eagles defensive line. Pick your poison, are you single covering him or Carter? He transforms this pass rush from good (when healthy) to one of the more dominant units in the league. Are you ok with giving up 3 firsts though?

Fun Fact: Myles Garrett has the same agent as Jalen Hurts, Nicole Lynn.

All contract numbers courtesy of Spotrac.com and Overthecap.com