When Andrew Berry and the Cleveland Browns opted to amend Myles Garrett's contract, fans naturally raised an eyebrow. In the simplest of terms, all the Browns did was delay Garrett's full $31 million payment for 2026 until early September. Despite the word salad Andrew Berry offered up in defense of the financial maneuvering, by all appearances only one thing was truly accomplished: extending the window to trade Myles Garrett before handing him his enormous check.
Under the previous terms of the contract, that payment was due in March. That means if the Browns were to trade Garrett to another team in the summer, the acquiring team would effectively owe him nothing, with owner Jimmy Haslam footing the majority of the $31 million bill for Garrett to wear another team's colors. Naturally, the owner would like to save money if moving on from arguably the best player the team's ever had.
The whole subject got buried by the ever-moving NFL news cycle, until Thursday, that is. Mike Sando of The Athletic pens an annual piece where he gathers opinions on that offseason's happenings from various NFL executives who speak on the condition of anonymity. An interesting tidbit proves it wasn't just fans who thought the Browns' handling of Garrett's contract was odd.
"The report of the option bonus date moving later for Myles Garrett makes me think Cleveland is planning on trading him, an exec said."
A rival exec believes the Browns may be planning a Myles Garrett trade
It was one thing for fans and media to opine about the saga, coming to the conclusion that the Browns could very well be heading toward a divorce with the future Hall of Famer. Hearing that the sentiment reverberated through NFL circles, however, is an entirely different matter. This implies that people in a position to know more than the average fan, with presumed experience in NFL front offices, believe Garrett is available.
Sando also connected the dots regarding a Browns rule proposal that has since been tabled. Cleveland proposed a rule change that would extend the amount of years out a team was allowed to trade future draft choices, from three to five. Before withdrawing the proposal, they had one public ally — the Los Angeles Rams — which certainly leaves a ton of room for speculation.
"While the Browns were the ones proposing a rules change allowing teams to trade draft choices further into the future, the Rams have been most outspoken in favor of the change," Sando said. "Could that be because the Rams, desperate to win a championship in what could be Matthew Stafford’s final season, are interested in a certain Browns defensive lineman whose contract recently became easier to trade? Cleveland withdrew the proposal during the NFL owners’ meetings this week rather than subject it to a losing vote. Consider the subject on the table for the future."
At first glance, it appears like pure fantasy. The Rams trading for Myles Garrett would surely cost too much to even consider. Then, as the picture percolates, a cold sweat develops on the forehead of die-hard members of the Dawg Pound. Despite the Rams' big acquisitions of the cornerback duo of Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, they still rank just 22nd in cash spending for the 2026 season, according to Spotrac.
With the easily manipulated salary cap not a true impediment, the Rams nonetheless have the 12th-most cap space as of this posting with roughly $28.3 million. The possibility of Garrett heading to Los Angeles is far-fetched, to be sure, but Andrew Berry's noted change of tune when discussing the matter won't quell fans' concerns.
As a practical matter, it appears that a trade before the 2026 NFL Draft is unlikely. If the Browns trade Myles Garrett prior to June 1, they will incur an additional $17.4 million cap charge on their books. If they wait until after that date, they actually free up a little more than $8 million in space, though that would mean none of the trade package they received from the Rams, or any other team, was in the form of 2026 draft picks. Early reviews of the 2027 draft class indicate that may not be a bad thing after all.
While it seems most likely that the Browns will at least hold Myles Garrett until the 2026 trade deadline when they will have an idea of how the season has unfolded, Browns fans will have to hold their breath until Sept. 2. At that point, the Browns will be on the hook for his bonus payment, making a preseason trade unthinkable.
Until then, it remains a realistic scenario to keep an eye out for — and judging by Sando's reporting, NFL execs are watching too.