Packer Central

Myles Garrett Asks for Trade; Packers Could Be Interested

After the Green Bay Packers’ pass rush fizzled in 2024, GM Brian Gutekunst said “you can never have enough” pass rushers. There is no better pass rusher in the NFL than Browns star Myles Garrett, who has asked to be traded.
Bill Huber|
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) celebrates after sacking Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) celebrates after sacking Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers need to improve an inconsistent pass rush. On Monday, one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett, requested a grade.

Garrett completed his eighth NFL season. The four-time first-team All-Pro and 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year has been to the playoffs only twice in his career.

“The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl. With that in mind, I have requested to be traded from the Cleveland Browns,” Garrett said in a statement.

The Browns have said they won’t trade Garrett.

Speaking at the Senior Bowl, Browns general manager Andrew Berry made that abundantly clear. Asked if he’d turn down two first-round picks in a hypothetical trade, Berry said, “Correct. You can put that on the record.”

The Browns view Garrett as a building-block player for a team that went 11-6 and reached the playoffs in 2023 but crashed to 3-14 in 2024.

“We feel really good about Myles, obviously, as a big piece of our future,” Berry said. “We're looking forward to him being on the field. Like I said in my (season-ending) press conference, we envision him going from Cleveland to Canton when his career is over.”

Garrett, who turned 29 on Dec. 29, is one of the best players in the NFL. He had 14 sacks and an NFL-leading 22 tackles for losses in 17 games this season. He has at least 10 sacks in seven consecutive seasons and at least 14 in four consecutive seasons.

In 2024, Pro Football Focus credited Garrett with 83 total pressures. Among all defenders with at least 200 pass-rushing opportunities, he was No. 1 in pass-rush win rate at 23.1 percent.

Rashan Gary led the Packers with 47 total pressures; Green Bay’s top three of Gary, Kingsley Enagbare (25) and Lukas Van Ness (20) combined for 92 pressures. That’s nine more pressures in 479 more pass-rushing snaps.

While the Packers were eighth in sacks and 10th in sack percentage, a lot of that was through the creativity of defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. The Packers were 26th in pass-rush win rate, according to ESPN.

“We’ve got to put in the work,” coach Matt LaFleur said at the end of the season. “When you get those opportunities, somebody’s going to get a one-on-one the majority of the time if teams are dropping back, especially in those known passing situations. In those known passing situations, get-back-on-track, third-and-medium-plus, guys got to be able to win one-on-ones.”

General manager Brian Gutekunst has been a seller at past trade deadlines, but he’s shown a good touch in adding veterans, whether it’s Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney in free agency or the trade for Malik Willis.

“If it’s the right player, if you feel like he can be a dynamic player who can change your football team, I think you’ve got to consider that, because there’s not many of those guys out there,” Gutekunst said at the end of the season. “But I think you have to also understand what you’re giving up. So that’s kind of my philosophy. …

“If that player can impact our football team in a significant way, you have to consider that.”

Now comes a game of hardball between the Browns and Garrett, though it’s possible Berry’s strong words were to make clear that their superstar won’t be available at a discount and maybe the two first-round picks would be the starting point.

If the Packers were to acquire Garrett, one league source thought two first-round picks and a young and affordable defensive lineman (such as Lukas Van Ness) would be needed to make a deal.

“There are no comparables,” he said. And he’s right. Blockbuster trades in the NFL are rare, and especially for defensive players.

At the trade deadline in 2021, the Broncos sent Von Miller to the Rams for second- and third-round picks. But Miller was 32 and a half-year rental. Garrett is 29 and under contract through the 2026 season.

Garrett is playing under a five-year, $125 million contract extension. He’s got minimal base salaries the next two years of $1.255 million in 2025 and $1.30 million in 2026. From a cap perspective, the acquiring team would get a great deal.

“With Mark (Murphy) retiring, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Packers take a swing,” the source said.

The Packers have the 11th-most cap space entering free agency and no players they must absolutely re-sign.

Garrett, who has missed only two games the last four seasons, has 102.5 career sacks. He ranks eighth among active players in sacks, 11th with 20 forced fumbles and 13th with 116 tackles for losses.

In 2024, he was second with 14 sacks, first with 22 tackles for losses and tied for third with 28 quarterback hits. He’s also been an excellent run defender.

The Packers held him without a sack or tackle for loss in games in 2017 and 2021.

At the start of his trade request, Garrett wrote: “As a kid dreaming of the NFL, all I focused on was the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl – and that goal fuels me today more than ever.”

Landing a player of Garrett’s magnitude would put the Packers several steps closer to their goal of winning a Super Bowl.

“Pass rushers, you can never have enough,” Gutekunst said. “And I thought there were times this year we did that and we were able to rush with four. I think every team in the league, that’s how you’d prefer to do it. There was periods of time where we didn’t do that well enough. I think everybody understands that that affects your football team.”

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.