Even in football, which is the ultimate team sport, it really does just come down to one player every now and then.
For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, that one player was an edge rusher — or lack thereof — that kept them from advancing past the NFC Wild Card Round, where they fell to the Washington Commanders in a 23-20 upset loss in Tampa.
Former Buccaneers star defensive tackle Gerald McCoy thinks his former team should bet the house on adding disgruntled Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett — the NFL’s elite edge rusher — after Garrett told the Browns he was seeking a trade on February 3.
“(Tampa Bay) brought in Shaq Barrett at the end of the year to bolster the edge rush because they felt like they didn’t have enough,” McCoy said on “This is Football With Kevin Clark” on February 4. “In the playoffs, if they had a guy who could get to (Washington quarterback) Jayden Daniels, it would have changed everything for that team. The offense was a top five offense.
“… If (the Buccaneers) had a guy like Myles Garrett on the edge, it would solidify what this team could be … if you are just a piece away from not just being a better team but, like, literally winning it all, you gotta go get a Myles Garrett because he’s that guy for more things than just his play.”
Garrett’s Trade Request Shocks NFL
Garrett’s trade request shocked the NFL and drew immediate comparisons to a shocking NBA trade as the Dallas Mavericks sent superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers just one day before Garrett’s trade request.
Like Doncic, Garrett is in his prime. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft was the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and is a 6-time NFL All-Pro and 6-time Pro Bowler.
The Browns are not only coming off a 3-14 season — their worst season since going 0-16 during Garrett’s rookie year in 2017 — but are also staring down $92 million in guaranteed money still owed to quarterback Deshaun Watson over the 2025 and 2026 seasons and a total salary cap hit of $145.2 million over those seasons.
Winning in Cleveland isn’t sustainable in the short term — Garrett’s prime — which is why he’s ready to bounce.
Calculating What Garrett Might Cost Bucs
First, let’s take into account the money Garrett is scheduled to make over the final 2 seasons of the 5-year, $120 million contract extension he signed in July 2020 — $19.7 million in 2025 and $25 million in 2026. The Buccaneers would have to do some contractual acrobatics to make the work, but it’s not impossible.
The other aspect of the trade is a little more complicated. What do the Buccaneers give up to get an edge rusher who could not only keep them among the NFC contenders but propel them to another level?
The best comparison we can take from recent memory would be the deal the Miami Dolphins made to get wide receiver Tyreek Hill from the Kansas City Chiefs in March 2022.
To get Hill, the Dolphins sent the Chiefs their 2022 first round pick, 2022 second round pick, 2022 fourth round pick, 2023 fourth round pick and 2023 sixth round pick.
The Buccaneers could almost cut-copy-paste that deal and hope the Browns are smart enough to take the bait. In that scenario, it would equal Tampa Bay’s 2025 first round pick, 2025 second round pick, 2025 fifth round pick and, in this case, a slight change — also Tampa Bay’s 2026 first round pick.
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