Howie Roseman is a big-game hunter but Myles Garrett may be his Moby Dick.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport poured cold water on the reigning Super Bowl champions adding arguably the best pᴀss rusher in the sport in a trade following Garrett’s trade request from the Browns last month.
Rapoport noted Wednesday how that rumor made the rounds during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
“In order to get rid of that contract, they would have to get rid of other big contracts of their own,” Rapoport said on “Good Morning Football.” “Even the Eagles can’t fit everybody they want. I would be very surprised if this happens. It’s a great rumor. But I would be very surprised if this happened.”
The Eagles have a propensity to chase big names under Roseman, their top football executive, and rumors have swirled about their interest in Garrett.
The Athletic previously reported Roseman wanted to take a “big swing” to build a roster that can defend its Super Bowl тιтle, and that would be in the form of Garrett.
The Eagles recently shed veterans Darius Slay and James Bradberry to help clear cap space, while also awarding Saquon Barkley a two-year, $41.2 million extension.
An Eagles reporter noted how Garrett could notice how the Eagles reward their star players, with the Barkley deal as evidence, but Rapoport pointed to the financial reality complicating a deal.
“As far as the Philadelphia Eagles go, yes, they’ve paid a lot of money to their own guys. All their best players are locked in on huge deals from Saquon to Jalen (Hurts) to A.J. Brown to DeVonta Smith, there are many of them,” Rapoport said.
“Even though they cleared some cap space (Tuesday), here’s what I want to point out: If the Eagles were going to take on a huge contract for Myles Garrett and if he gets traded anywhere, he’s going to be the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL, no doubt about it.”
The other element — and perhaps the more important one — is that any trade takes two to tango, and the Browns are shunning Lee Ann Womack’s advice and sitting out this dance.
Garrett said in his request that he wants to play for a winner, but the Browns are not planning to move him.
“Myles, as you guys have all heard me say, he’s a huge part of our organization, really good person, he’s an awesome player,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry told Cleveland.com at the Combine. “I understand the trade request and everything, but our stance really has not changed. We can’t imagine a situation where not having Myles as a part of the organization is best for the Browns.”
Rapoport echoed those sentiments, while noting that plans can always be altered.
“First of all, from the Browns’ situation with Myles Garrett, they do not intend to trade Myles Garrett. I think they’ve made that very clear when teams calls them and that is something that has been evident, they’ve said privately and publicly,” he said. “Could that change down the road? Could that change if he really is saying, ‘I’m not going to play for this team.’ Maybe. We’ve seen things happen. As of right now, very, very firmly the Browns are saying, ‘We are not trading Myles Garrett.’”
