Also: Philadelphia “may get outpriced” for Zack Baun?
Myles Garrett to the Philadelphia Eagles trade rumors certainly aren’t dying down as NFL free agency approaches.
Earlier this week, ESPN had a report on the Eagles’ interest in Garrett. Now it’s The Athletic’s Diana Russini who’s saying that Howie Roseman could “make a big swing” for the Cleveland Browns’ star pass rusher.
Here’s an interesting exchange between Russini and Chase Daniel on Friday’s Scoop City podcast:
RUSSINI: “There are a lot of teams in on Zack Baun. He’s going to be expensive for Philadelphia, if they want to do it. I just think they may get outpriced there.” [….] “I think they’re going to make an effort here. But here’s what some people are saying right now. That Howie’s willing to move on from some of these guys because he’s looking to make a big swing, and take a big swing. And that big swing would be for Myles Garrett. So, some of these guys that you think are a sure thing, may not be sure things to return to Philly. […] Would you put it past Howie Roseman going after Myles Garrett? No way. All they want to do is build and build and build in the area and the areas that got them to the Super Bowl and in the Super Bowls past. […] Look, but, is Cleveland going to move him? At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to that. And Myles Garrett is not open to negotiating with the Browns on a new contract.
DANIEL: So, say Myles Garrett gets traded. What does trade compensation look like from the team trading for him? In terms of just the pure picks having to give up. I know they’re going to have to re-sign him but the picks given up.
RUSSINI: Yeah, they’re definitely going to have to do a new deal, and he wants to be the highest paid player at that position. That’s quite obvious. But let’s just look at the Khalil Mack, that was two 1s, a 3, and a 6. And they had a second-round and a fifth-round pick that they gave back. But I don’t think it’s going to be that big.
DANIEL: Not two 1s, right?
RUSSINI: No. No. That’s too much. I don’t think it’s going to be that much.
A few things to unpack here:
- Interesting to hear that Baun has a robust market and that the Eagles could get outpriced for him. It was previously reported that the Eagles have made signing Baun ahead of free agency their priority. I’d be pretty surprised if the Eagles let Baun walk out the door.
- It’s no surprise to see the Eagles interested in Garrett. And not only because they have a need at edge rusher. But because he’s an incredibly dominant force that the Eagles have seen up close in joint training camp practices over some of the past few summers. They saw him single-handedly ruin their ability to even get anything going on offense in practice one day. Garrett is the kind of player you move heaven and earth to acquire. Players of his caliber are rarely available.
- The Browns continue to say they won’t trade Garrett. The feeling here is that they’ll have to budge at some point.
- Based on historical precedent, expecting the trade to cost less than two first-round picks is not crazy. Of course, Garrett is so good that this might be an exception. And the Eagles’ first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft is obviously one spot away from a second-round selection since Philly won Super Bowl LIX.
The feeling here is that it’s more likely the Eagles do NOT acquire Garrett and they DO retain Baun. But I’m never going to say never with Howie in the mix. I don’t doubt he’ll try hard to make it happen.
