The Cleveland Browns are staring down a difficult decision as defensive end Myles Garrett pushes for a trade and refuses to relent on his demand. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk points out, the Browns could eliminate two major headaches with one bold move — but it would come at a high price.
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Florio suggests the Browns could turn the situation on its head by telling any potential trade partners, "If you want Myles Garrett, you have to take Deshaun Watson." The move would involve a significant financial commitment, amounting to an extra $92 million, as the new team would inherit the remainder of Watson's five-year, $230 million, fully guaranteed contract.
While it's clear Watson isn't an immediate on-field asset — following surgery last month on his re-torn Achilles tendon, Watson is highly unlikely to play in 2025 — his contract could be the key to unlocking a trade for Garrett. Florio notes this scenario echoes the Brock Osweiler trade made by the Browns seven years ago, in which they absorbed $16 million of Osweiler's guaranteed salary and were rewarded with a second-round pick.
The trade package could look like this: A team willing to take on Watson's contract would reduce the draft-pick compensation Cleveland receives for Garrett and/or the team's willingness to offer Garrett a market-value contract.
However, Florio suggests Cleveland could engineer a situation similar to the one Houston created when they traded Watson three years ago. The Texans pre-approved four teams — the Browns, Panthers, Falcons, and Saints — to negotiate with Watson. The Browns could potentially negotiate the same setup, where interested teams could talk to Garrett in exchange for taking on Watson's albatross contract.
But what team would bite? Florio names a few potential suitors with ample cap space to absorb Watson's deal. The Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Chargers are among the few teams that could make it work, while the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions could also take on the salary without suffering major financial pain.
The Vikings, for example, could justify the investment by pointing to J.J. McCarthy's rookie deal, which averages less than $5.5 million per year.
However, for a true Super Bowl contender, the calculus would be clear: If adding Garrett could be the difference between being on the doorstep of a championship and actually winning one, they might just be willing to take on Watson.
The key question is whether any team would be comfortable inheriting Watson's highly unpopular contract as part of the deal — and whether they'd be willing to release him immediately after completing the trade.
Of course, Watson does hold a no-trade clause, but Florio suggests that if he's still paid the balance of his lucrative contract and the move gets him out of Cleveland with a path to free agency in 2026, he might be open to the idea.
In the end, this could be the kind of outside-the-box thinking the Browns need if they're serious about moving Garrett.
But, as Florio aptly points out, it would require Cleveland to admit what many have already known: The 2022 trade for Watson was a massive mistake — one that could go down as the worst transaction in NFL history.
