Browns' biggest trade of the offseason does not involve moving on from Myles Garrett

The Cleveland Browns need to be honest with themselves. They have made their bed with Deshaun Watson, and now they must lie in it with the worst contract in the league. Until they can get him off the books, it will be far too expensive for them to sign a quarterback worth franchise money. For that reason, it is hard to see them being anything more than a fringe playoff team in a best-case scenario.

Factor in defensive end Myles Garrett wanting to be traded this offseason, and what are the Browns to do? Well, there is one other move the Browns could make that might end up being more impactful than merely moving on from Garrett. It serves Cleveland in so many ways to trade back from the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft in a deal with a team who is incredibly desperate for a quarterback.

By essentially forcing teams picking behind them like the New York Giants, the Las Vegas Raiders, the New York Jets or even the New Orleans Saints to give up the farm for the No. 2 pick, a potential trade could provide the Browns with the necessary pieces to build forward in a new direction. I would entrust the current regime to make the right decisions with the assets coming their way in a big trade.

Cleveland could trade Garrett as well, but the Browns would gain even more for the No. 2 overall pick.

Cleveland Browns should seriously consider moving off No. 2 overall pick

For a bit more clarity, let's ask ourselves what type of teams would be in contention to trade for Garrett in the first place. We need to look at contending teams across the NFL, probably ones in the NFC. So if we looked at strictly NFC teams from the fringe contender variety like the Atlanta Falcons to a serious contender in the Detroit Lions and everyone in between, where does that even leave us?

You are really only looking at about six to 10 reasonable suitors who could be in line to trade for Garrett. While I do expect that he will be traded this offseason, the best any team can give up for him this season is a mid-to-late first-round pick. That has to be the starting point. Then again, Garrett is not a kid anymore. He might be able to garner a first-round pick in return, but that may be too pricey.

And that is why trading the No. 2 overall pick is so important. Of the four teams I have listed above that could potentially move up to No. 2 in a deal with the Browns for a quarterback, Cleveland would not only get a top-10 pick in this year's draft in return, but also their first-round pick next year, and maybe even then some. Cleveland can still draft a future Pro Bowler with their new first-round pick.

So you have to look at it from a bigger picture. Next offseason may be the one for the Browns to draft their next franchise quarterback. Another year will have passed on Watson's contract. The 2026 quarterback draft class projects to be better than this current one. Cleveland is not going to be good next year anyway. By taking another beating in 2025, the Browns can have a brighter future tomorrow.

For example, look at how much better the Houston Texans are since they moved on from Watson.