Proposed Broncos Trade Lands $104 Million All-Pro From Struggling Rival

Getty Head coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos.

With two weeks until the NFL’s November 5 trade deadline, the Denver Broncos rank second in the NFL in sacks and have two players – Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto – who sit in the top 10 most sacks on the campaign. Both players are ascending.

However, the Broncos have also leaned on the blitz. They lead the league in blitz rate, per Pro Football Reference.

To ease that burden and bolster their pass rush, the Broncos could pounce on a fading team.

The Cleveland Browns are 1-6 on the season and have already begun trading players, sending Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills. Understandably, there have been calls about other players, and one – defensive end Myles Garrett – should interest the Broncos.

This Heavy Sports Broncos trade proposal aims to land Garrett, whose future in Cleveland has become a topic amid the Browns’ slide:

Broncos get:

• Myles Garrett
• 2025 seventh-round pick

Browns get:

• 2025 first-round pick
• 2025 third-round pick
• 2026 second-round pick
• Baron Browning

This deal would be expensive. But it follows a similar formula to the New York Giants’ trade for Brian Burns and the Broncos’ 2022 trade sending Bradley Chubb to the Miami Dolphins.

Neither has been as productive as Garrett.

He has 4.0 sacks through seven weeks. But he has posted double-digit sacks for six straight years from 2018 – when he earned his first of five trips to the Pro Bowl trips – to 2023. Garrett is tracking to fall just short this season, but the Browns have not played with a lead in a game often.

A three-time All-Pro, Garrett is in Year 3 of a five-year, $104 million contract. A potential new team would owe $806,000 in 2024, per Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti.

That figure would spike to $19.8 million in 2025 and $36.2 million in 2026.

The Broncos have $4.5 million in cap space as of October 21, per Over the Cap, who projects them to have $71.8 million in room in 2025 and $161.9 million in 2026. A deal is far more prohibitive for the Browns.

Cleveland would incur dead cap hits of $19.3 million and another $36.2 million charge for the 2026 season.

With two more years and $92 million owed to starting quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was lost for the season to a torn Achilles in Week 7, the Browns might be reluctant to add more sunken costs to their books.

Door Ajar For Broncos Trade Overture to Browns for Myles Garrett

“Speaking of trades, the Browns will get phone calls now, based on their 1–6 record and the fact that they just offloaded Cooper,” The Monday Morning Quarterback’s Albert Breer wrote on October 21. “I don’t think they’ll move Myles Garrett (but some fishing has taken place; anyone can call), Denzel Ward or Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. But guys such as Za’Darius Smith or Jack Conklin would have value to others and could be more realistic targets.”

That aligns with a report from Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, who called Garrett a “future Hall of Famer.” Cabot also says Garrett will not be part of a potential trade deadline fire sale for the Browns.

However, Cabot left the door open if ever so slightly.

“Garrett is a cornerstone of the franchise, and they’ll continue to build their defense around him even if they have to find a new quarterback after this season,” Cabot wrote on October 20.

“Of course, a team can never say never when it comes to trades, and they’d probably at least answer the phone. But unless someone makes them a blockbuster offer that they can’t refuse, it’s not in the cards to part with one of the premier players in the history of the club.”

Garrett is aware of the possibility that he could get traded just like any other player.

Myles Garrett Not Looking to Leave Browns

Garrett acknowledged the Browns’ losing means nobody is safe from being moved. But he urged his teammates not to focus on what happened with Cooper and is not pushing for a trade from the Browns.

“When you lose, the door is open for anyone,” Garrett told reporters on October 18. “How you keep from losing your job or getting moved anywhere else, you have to play your a** off. You have to show you earned the right to be here. Earned the right to be on the field, earn the right to rush; all these you earn. You earn just the privilege to wear these colors. It’s an honor and privilege to be here, and to do this job every day.

“If you’re not doing it, then someone else will step up and take your place. That goes for anyone; myself included.”

Garrett alluded to sticking with the Browns through good and bad times.

He has been part of several losing seasons in his eight-year career with the Browns. That includes going 0-16 as a rookie and the No. 1 overall pick in 2017. But Garrett said his focus is trying to help the Browns get out of their current rut.

“I’ve always said, I want to play here until the end of my career,” Garrett said. “ I want to win here. I want to bring a championship here, so that that doesn’t cross my mind.”

Garrett’s comments came before Watson’s injury.

He has said nothing to counter those sentiments in the aftermath. Still, if there is a chance the Browns would trade him for “an offer they can’t refuse,” the Broncos should explore what that is and if it would be worth it.