In the post mortem of the Green Bay Packers‘ 11-6 season, which ended after the Wild Card Round after a defeat to the eventual NFC Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, two major tthings stood out.
Firstly, Jordan Love’s inconsistency; the fifth year QB flared between looking Jameis Winston-ian and Brett Favre-ian in play, which was admittedly marred by multiple injuries suffered across the entirety of his second season as a starter.
And secondly, the pass rush.
Whilst in recent years, the Packers’ run defense has been the primary issue, it was vastly shored up this year, ranking #6 in rush yards allowed. In fact, the pass rush was the only unit that took a major step back in defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley’s successful first year in Green Bay.
Although on paper, the Packers’ rush seemed fine, coming joint 10th in sacks, the advanced metrics tell a very different story. The team ranked 27th in pass rush win rate – how often a pass rusher overcomes their block within the first two-and-a-half seconds – per Sharp Football Analysis, and 20th in pressure rate, both well in the bottom half of the league.
And it isn’t exactly hot take that being able to get to the quarterback is a fundamental pillar of any championship caliber team, particularly in the loaded NFC North.
Packers Pass Rush In Need Of A Star Talent
Rashan Gary led the team in sacks with just 7.5 last year; and with former starter, Preston Smith, traded to the Steelers midway through the 2024 season and ex first round pick, Lukas Van Ness, taking time to truly kick-on as a starting DE, Green Bay are in need of a top quality end to lead their edge rushing attack.
One major name attached to the Packers is the Cleveland Browns‘ Myles Garrett, who won Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and hasn’t had a season without double digit sacks since his rookie year in 2017.
Garrett would be a good scheme fit on the Packers’ 4-3 defense, having just changed from the long-standing 3-4 run for well over a decade, this past season with the introduction of Hafley.
It seemed like the trade opportunity may be null after Browns GM, Andrew Berry, played down the potential of moving Garrett less than a week ago, but now with a major development, Green Bay could be closer to landing the 4 x All Pro edge than ever.
Myles Garrett has requested a trade.
His statement: pic.twitter.com/yx5Q9Exa0V
â Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 3, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Could Green Bay Make A Play For Garrett After Trade Request
Despite being drafted to an 1-15 team back in 2017, the Browns are almost in a worse position now than when Myles Garrett joined eight years ago.
Having finished 3-14, the Browns are still $27 million over the salary cap going into 2025, with their all-dud quarterback, Deshaun Watson, still having two more years to play out on his fully guaranteed deal, both with cap hits of almost $73 million.
And with neither top-two QB prospect eliciting major excitement in this upcoming NFL Draft, with questions concerning the viability of both Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, the Browns may be in for a rebuilding year – or two – until they have Watson’s contract off their books in 2027, barring some miraculous comeback for their QB, who suffered yet another serious injury for the second consecutive season.
Garrett signed a 5-year, $125 million deal back in 2020; one that now looks like a steal; and has two full years remaining on it, with cap hits of just $19 million and $20 million in 2025 and 2026.
The Browns would eat a whopping $36 million in dead cap by trading him, but with Garrett entering his age-29 year, this could be the team’s final chance to elicit high-quality draft compensation in exchange for his services, particularly given the injury/suspension concerns that blighted much of his earlier career.
The Packers are notoriously cautious on the trade market, particularly with older, veteran players that are leaving their prime – although under Brian Gutekunst they have been far more willing to pay big money to free agents, including giving running back, Josh Jacobs and safety, Xavier McKinney, big money just last offseason.
Gutekunst made a clear point last month when he stated that it is now time that Green Bay started competing for championships – and what better message to send to the team than to trade for one of the NFL’s top – 5 pass rushers at what could be a more than reasonable price.
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