When it came out this week that superstar defender Myles Garrett was requesting a trade, fans immediately got giddy over the idea of adding him to our team. Garrett, who handled his trade request like a true professional (unlike how a San Francisco star did over the spring), showed up in New Orleans and hit Media Row at the Super Bowl venue to address his request.
If you didn’t know the impact quarterback Jayden Daniels has already made on this football team, just listen to a player of Garrett’s magnitude speak about the possibility of playing with the rising phenom.
Would playing alongside a rising star like Jayden Daniels appeal to Myles Garrett?
“Absolutely.”
Had a chance to chat with Myles about his trade request, what he’s looking for, and what he wants for his football legacy. Full interview: https://t.co/BGwGs7Zbga pic.twitter.com/Mn1yO2mmyj
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) February 5, 2025
Bill did a nice job laying out the Commanders cap situation in his article on Monday. I’ve since used this article to have discussions with fans on social media who, 1) Don’t like the information presented; and 2) Believe that we can still create close to $100M with cuts and re-structures.
My discussions centered around re-signing our own players, trading for Garrett, unrestricted free agents (like Tee Higgins), targets in the draft, and having some money left over to get us through the season.
Below are the players most fans want to see us re-sign. Next to their name I gave an estimate of how much they could potentially get in a new contract from Washington.
- Bobby Wagner: 1yr/$7.5M
- Marcus Mariota: 1yr/$8M
- Jeremy Chinn: 2ys/$14M
- Zach Ertz: 1yr/$6M
- Tress Way: 2yr/$8M (potential out in 2026)
- Noah Igbinoghene: 1yr/$3M
- Dyami Brown: 1yr/$3M
Total Estimated Cap Hit: $32-34M
From Bill’s article, I’m assuming we have $60-65M in effective cap space. This is taking into account money needed to sign our draft picks and any undrafted free agents and allowing at least $5M in contingency to go into the season with. What this number does not take into consideration is cuts, re-structures or contract extensions.
Potential Re-Structures and Extensions:
Re-structure
- Jonathan Allen: 2yrs (plus one void year) added
*2025 Cap Hit – $12M ($10M cap savings)
Extension
- Terry McLaurin: 3yrs/$85M
*2025 Cap Hit – $14.5M ($11M cap savings)
New Cap – $50M (estimate)
After removing the cost to sign the Commanders draft picks (which could also change from the below scenario) allowing at least $6M for contingencies/injuries, factoring in the proposed cap hit for re-signing some of our own players, and adding in the savings for re-structuring Jonathan Allen and extending Terry McLaurin, Washington would have around $50M to spend on other team’s free agents or trade targets.
The Price to Acquire Myles Garrett
Myles Garrett is one of the best defensive players in the NFL. Make no doubt about it – he will positively impact any team he’s on. However, there is a steep price that any acquiring team will pay for his services.
First, trade compensation will have to be given to the Browns. They don’t want to let him go, but if the deal is right, it very well may be in their best interest to do so. The STARTING POINT is two first round draft picks – and very likely more. Since Washington holds just one first round pick in 2025 and it’s a late first rounder at number 29, they will likely have to sweeten the pot with a mid-round pick this year in addition to their 2026 first rounder.
Potential Trade Package:
-2025 First Round Pick
-2025 Third Round Pick
-2026 First Round Pick
Second, Garrett wants a new contract. Any trading team will have to negotiate a new deal, likely making him the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL.
Potential Contract:
-4yrs/$150M ($75M signing bonus)
*2025 Cap Hit – $20M
The Impact of Trading For Garrett
First let’s look at the positives…
As previously stated, Myles Garrett is the best defensive player in the NFL today. At 29 years old, he already has over 100 career sacks (102.5) and has posted at least 14 in each of his last four seasons. He had back-to-back seasons with 16 sacks (2021 and 2022), and he recorded a staggering 22 tackles for a loss this past season. He was the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, a four-time first-team All-Pro, two-time second-team All-Pro, and six-time Pro Bowler. He also comes at a premium position of great need for Washington. The Commanders currently have just two edge rushers under contract for 2025 who played meaningful snaps this past season – Dorance Armstrong and Javontae Jean-Baptiste. I estimate Garrett adding at least two wins to our football team if he were to be acquired.
Now, there are some negatives associated with a potential trade. Garrett will turn 30 next December, and although he shows no signs of decline at this stage of his career, he’d turn 33 during the final year of his proposed new deal here, and that is getting a bit long in the tooth for NFL standards. His new deal should not be a major issue when it comes to fitting into Washington’s present and future salary cap, however, it may hinder who the team can sign and/or trade for in future years. As we already know, the Commanders currently have just 43 players under contract. Adam Peters had quite a few guys sign here last year on one-year deals, so bringing in quality free agents is a must. Trading for Garrett and giving him a new contract extension could make it tough to sign fan-favorites like Tee Higgins, Ronnie Stanley and Charvarius Ward, and it makes trading for guys like Cooper Kupp and Kyle Pitts nearly impossible seeing what we’d already be giving away in draft capital for Garrett.
Adam Peters is a huge build-through-the-draft guy and being without first round picks in back-to-back drafts, and a third rounder this year, really hampers the young nucleus he’s hoping to assemble around rookie superstar Jayden Daniels. The players that we would have been able to draft with our first and third this season will now have to come through lower-cost free agent signings. This may mean taking a few risks on guys like Mekhi Becton, Jedrick Wills and Caleb Farley and hoping they pan out like Chinn and Igbinoghene did.
After looking at the Commanders cap situation and draft resources, it’s absolutely possible we could make a trade for Myles Garrett work. The question becomes as what cost to the future core of this team will his acquisition have?
Washington will have to sign players in free agency regardless of what they decide to do when it comes to trading for Myles. If they are not in on the Garrett sweepstakes, they will most certainly look to sign another cheaper free agent edge rusher and also look to draft one with a top 100 pick. They also need a longer-term complement to Terry McLaurin on the outside, likely two new starters along the offensive line, a new cornerback and possibly a tight end to eventually take over for Ertz. Would trading for Garrett limit Adam Peters’ ability to add important pieces to this roster both now and in the future?
With Garrett, can we have our cake and eat it too? Only time will tell.