Copyright phillyvoice
Myles Garrett is the best defensive player in the NFL. He is a six-time All-Pro (First-Team four times, Second-Team twice), he was the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, he has had at least 14 sacks in each of his last four full seasons, and his 10 sacks in 2025 currently lead the NFL. He is 6'4 and 272 pounds with long 35 1/4" arms, and rare explosive measurables: Over the last decade-plus, the Philadelphia Eagles have often held joint practices with other teams around the league. In recent years, the Cleveland Browns have been a common practice partner. The two most impressive players I have ever watched in a practice setting (Eagles players included) are Tom Brady, who shredded the Eagles' defense with ease while throwing to a bunch of nobodies, and Myles Garrett, who I have seen basically wreck practices on multiple occasions because he was so dominant. For example, the Eagles held joint practices with the Browns this past summer, and here's what we wrote in our practice notes on the first day of those joint practices. Unsurprisingly, Myles Garrett gave Jordan Mailata all he could handle. He beat Mailata a few times either with pressures or "sacks." Garrett had less success going up against Lane Johnson in team drills, which was a fun matchup to watch. On one rep, Garrett tried a dip move around the edge on Johnson, and at full speed his entire 272-pound body couldn't have been more than three feet off the ground. I don't know how Lane blocked him, but he was able to ride him around the arc of the pocket.Garrett did get the best of Lane in 1-on-1's on an inside move. I have never seen Lane beaten as badly as Garrett beat him on that rep. Lane is arguably the most athletic tackle in NFL history, and Garrett made him look like his feet were in cinderblocks. On the second day, it got way worse: On pretty much every snap, I was writing down how Myles Garrett wrecked each play. "95 speed rush beats Mailata.""Mailata holds 95.""Jurgens tries to trap block 95, 95 gets to Hurts before Jurgens can even get there.""95 win around the edge over Mailata."Etc etc.95 this, 95 that. That's really the story of this practice, even from an Eagles writer's perspective. It got to the point where Garrett would clearly get his win, and then just stop rushing so that the Eagles could run plays and the rest of the Browns' defense could try to defend them.Lane Johnson had a "rest" day today. In future joint practices with the Browns, he probably shouldn't be allowed to rest -- and Garrett should probably be forced to rush against him -- just so that it's fair.He is the best defensive player in the NFL, and I don't think it's particularly close. It should be noted that the Eagles weren't giving Mailata help like they would in a real game, but man, that was as one-sided a matchup as I have seen in an Eagles practice.As a disclaimer, a lot of the rest of these notes were things that happened after Garrett got a sack. And there were actually a lot of positives otherwise, you know, if you don't count Garrett wrecking the play first. Jordan Mailata was an All-Pro last season, so it's not as if Garrett was picking on Andre Dillard or Matt Pryor or something. Garrett is a generational talent, who has unfortunately played in relative obscurity for an awful Browns franchise. The only real "knock" on Garrett is that he's in his ninth NFL season, and he'll turn 30 in December. In Garrett's case, that's just a number. He has missed one game due to injury since 2021, and he's healthy right now, seeing as he had 5 sacks against the Patriots Week 8. During that game, he passed Reggie White for the most career sacks under the age of 30. But also on the age front, I mean, just look at him, from this summer (photo credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images): So why is this even a conversation? Well, the Eagles are rumored to be "super hot after Myles Garrett." (Video via @JackMcCurry08). Transcription via Brandon Gowton at BGN: “Rumor going around … and I have not heard it out of the Eagles, but I’ve heard it from a couple of other super high-ranking people in other teams that are clearly on the phones. That Howie Roseman and the Eagles are super hot after Myles Garrett. That Howie would give up, like, three first-round picks for him.”“Which, you know, if it’s coming from the Eagles, those are three late firsts. So, it’s even arguable … when you get through the draft process, how many first-round grades do you really have? Maybe you have between 14 and 18 in a typical year. And that means if you’re drafting in the late 20s, early 30s, you’re not even getting a player that’s really considered on your board, unless you’re lucky, you’re not getting a player that maybe you have a first-round grade on.”“But, yeah, so that’s kinda like this rumor that’s out there. Like, hey, Howie would really love a shot at [Garrett]. But, again, I was told by the Browns they’re not interested in moving him.” Gowton also pointed out that Garrett's contract isn't immovable, as discovered by ESPN's Dan Graziano: Thing is, I dug into the contract a bit this week, and I don’t think it’s out of the question that the Browns could trade Garrett -- even this week -- if he really wanted out. The extension added $7 million to his 2025 compensation and $6 million to his 2026 compensation. It also guaranteed him about $30.5 million for 2027. The signing bonus on the new deal was around $21 million, which isn’t super-onerous for a contract of that size. If the Browns traded him right now, his 2025 cap number would stay about the same, and they’d incur about $41 million in dead money for 2026 -- roughly $17.5 million more than his current 2026 cap charge.That’s a lot of dead money, but it’s not even close to the record. The Broncos took on about $80 million when they cut Russell Wilson last year, and they made the playoffs last season and look poised to do so again. The Buccaneers are still carrying Tom Brady dead money and they win their division every season. We see teams do this more and more as the salary cap continues to rise significantly each year. If someone came offering the Browns, say, two first-round picks, and Garrett (who has a no-trade clause and could therefore veto a deal) really wanted out, it would probably be worth considering. Howie Roseman already tried to trade for Micah Parsons this season. They reportedly offered a couple of first-round picks, a third-round pick, a fifth-round pick, "and more." The Cowboys more or less confirmed that the Eagles made the offer, but also added that under no circumstances would they have traded Parsons to their divisional rival. Instead, they traded Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for, in my opinion, a worse offer. So, you know, the Eagles have already proven that they will trade multiple first-round picks for an elite edge rusher. And yes, if the Browns are dumb enough to trade him for what will likely be three picks in the 20's or 30's, then the Eagles shouldn't (and probably wouldn't) hesitate for a second to pull the trigger, and then go win another Super Bowl or two. But I think it would take significantly more than three first-round pick. Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | thePhillyVoice Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader
