Myles Garrett’s trade request could impact the Patriots’ offseason in more ways than one
Superstar pass rusher Myles Garrett has requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns. Any Garrett trade could potentially impact the Patriots’ offseason – even if they’re not the ones trading for him.
The big theme to kick off Super Bowl week seems to be superstar trades. Unlike the Dallas Mavericks, who blindsided their franchise player by trading him without warning over the weekend, the next big move may end up being initiated by the player himself. That’s because on Monday morning, Cleveland Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett released a statement officially requesting a trade from the team.
“While I’ve loved calling [Cleveland] my home, my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won’t allow me to be complacent. The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl,” Garrett wrote. “With that in mind, I have requested to be traded from the Cleveland Browns.”
Of course, a trade request doesn’t guarantee a trade. Garrett’s comments come just a few weeks after Browns GM Andrew Berry told a group of reporters he doesn’t plan on trading Garrett.
“We feel really good about Myles obviously as a big piece of our future. We’re looking forward to him being on the field. Like I said in my [early January] press conference, we envision him going from Cleveland to Canton when his career is over,” Berry had said, with Garrett referencing that wording in his statement on Monday.
Garrett is coming off of a 14-sack season in 2024, which saw him named an All-Pro for the fifth year in a row. He was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, and is a finalist for the award again this season.
Year | Age | Team | Games | Sacks | Tackles | TFLs | QB Hits |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | 22 | CLE | 11 | 7.0 | 31 | 9 | 18 |
2018 | 23 | CLE | 16 | 13.5 | 44 | 12 | 29 |
2019 | 24 | CLE | 10 | 10.0 | 29 | 11 | 18 |
2020 | 25 | CLE | 14 | 12.0 | 48 | 10 | 18 |
2021 | 26 | CLE | 17 | 16.0 | 51 | 17 | 33 |
2022 | 27 | CLE | 16 | 16.0 | 60 | 18 | 26 |
2023 | 28 | CLE | 16 | 14.0 | 42 | 17 | 30 |
2024 | 29 | CLE | 17 | 14.0 | 47 | 22 | 28 |
Career | 117 | 102.5 | 352 | 116 | 200 |
If Garrett is traded, that transaction would be one of the biggest if not the biggest in the NFL this offseason. The ramifications would likely go beyond the Browns and whoever that trade partner ends up being.
Could that partner be the Patriots? Pass rusher certainly ranks among their biggest needs this offseason. That being said, there are a couple of road blocks the team would have to overcome to add Garrett.

The first would be the fact that Garrett states very directly in his statement that he wants to play for a contender. Entering his age-29 season that most likely means a team ready to win for a Super Bowl now, not one that can be a contender soon.
That would be a very tough sell, to put it mildly, for a Patriots team coming off of back-to-back four-win seasons with just one playoff appearance in the last five years. Any pitch would have to revolve around two things – Drake Maye’s potential to take a significant Year 2 leap, and the presence of new head coach Mike Vrabel (who spent last year on the staff in Cleveland with Garrett).
There’s also the matter of what the Patriots would have to give up, and what they’d be willing to part with. NFL insider Dianna Russini suggested on Monday that the return for Garrett would likely start with a first round pick and at least one more top 100 pick.
As good as Garrett is, using the fourth overall pick on an older player rather than one they can build the team around for (ideally) a decade or more might not line up with the timeline the Patriots are currently working with. At the same time the 38th pick – the Patriots’ second-round selection – likely wouldn’t be enough, with contenders at the bottom of the draft in much better position to move on from their first-round picks.
The best way for the Patriots to make a Garrett trade work – again assuming he’d even come to New England – would be to move up from 38 into the first round then send that pick (and maybe more) to Cleveland. Last year the Vikings reportedly tried something similar. More than a month ahead of the draft they traded their second-round pick, a sixth-round pick, and future second to move up from 42nd overall to 23rd. However, they couldn’t get a deal done and ended up just making both first-round picks.

Looking at the situation as a whole, the Patriots likely won’t be among the suitors for Garrett. However, that doesn’t mean his eventual trade – if it happens at all – won’t impact them.
As mentioned above pass rusher is a major need for a Patriots team that struggled to put heat on the quarterback last year. They ranked 29th in the NFL with a 28.7% pressure rate and their 28 total team sacks (nine of which came in just one game, Week 10 against the Bears) were the fewest in the league. During his introductory press conference, Vrabel highlighted the importance of being able to disrupt opposing quarterbacks.
Garrett may not be the fix to that issue for the Patriots, but it is something that needs to be addressed externally. That could come via free agency or the draft.
While this is a weaker free agency class overall, there are some potential impact pass rushers set to be available. That list includes Khalil Mack, Josh Sweat, Haason Reddick, Barron Browning, and Chase Young.

Edge rusher is a premium position, and comes with a premium price tag. Just what will that price tag look like? If Garrett ends up signing a new deal once he’s traded (he’s currently signed through 2026 but has no guaranteed money remaining on his deal), that new contract will reset the market for the position. That could make any pass rusher deal that much more expensive for the Patriots and any other team in that market (this would also happen if Garrett gets a new contract from the Browns).
On top of that, Garrett’s departure from Cleveland could have an impact in the draft. Will losing Garrett, who has been the staple of their defense since he was taken first overall in 2017, impact Cleveland’s draft approach?
The Browns currently have the second overall pick, two spots ahead of the Patriots in the first round. Cleveland could end up being a quarterback team – they did restructure Deshaun Watson’s contract back in late December, but shortly after Watson re-ruptured his Achilles (after the original injury cost him most of the 2024 season) and his 2025 season is reportedly now in doubt.
However, despite not having a clear plan at quarterback in 2025, could the Browns look at a weak quarterback class in the draft and, knowing Watson is still under contract, push that need down the road another year? If they do, the next-most logical pick may be taking Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter with the second overall pick.

Carter is viewed by many to be the top overall player in this draft, so there was always a chance he wouldn’t make it to the Patriots at the fourth overall pick no matter what (there were even some that had suggested the Browns could pair Carter with Garrett to form an elite pass rush duo).
Still, the Browns moving on from Garrett would cut into those odds further, meaning the Patriots would have to look elsewhere with the fourth overall pick. There aren’t any other pass rushers that project to be the same level of prospect as Carter at the top of the draft, meaning if he’s off the board the Patriots will likely be looking at another position with the fourth overall pick or trading down (they could grab a different pass rusher in the back end of the top 10 or early teens).
This is all assuming Garrett does in fact get dealt. But if/when he is moved this spring, the ripple effect will go well beyond Cleveland and whatever team Garrett is traded to. Don’t be surprised if it reaches New England.