If you watched the Patriots’ convincing 32-13 win over the Browns on Sunday in Week 8, you probably noticed that amid the mess that Cleveland has become in recent years, there is one guy who stands out. And he stood out pretty obviously: It was Myles Garrett, who recorded five sacks of Drake Maye on the afternoon.
Garrett is good. Very good. In fact, the Browns gave him a record-breaking four-year, $160 million contract this offseason, and he currently leads the NFL with 10.0 sacks this season. It’s the eighth straight year he has reached double-digits in sacks.
At Pro Football Focus, Garrett is ranked as the No. 2 edge rusher in the NFL with a 92.2 grade, tied with Aidan Hutchinson and only 0.3 behind Micah Parsons. But again, if you watched him against the Patriots on Sunday, you don’t need advanced numbers to know Garrett is elite.
Meanwhile, though the Patriots’ pass rush is improved from last year, it’s still just middle-of-the-pack in the NFL, rated No. 16 by PFF. That gave former Patriots star Rob Ninkovich an idea: Get Garrett to the Patriots.
### Patriots Could Certainly Use Myles Garrett
OK, it’s almost certainly an impossible dream at this point. But for a Patriots team whose horizons must be broadened amid an MVP-caliber start for Maye and a 6-2 record to open the year, why not dream big? That’s Ninkovich’s stance. And he let Garrett know it.
“How about we go and get a guy who just had five sacks against us?” Ninkovich said on the Boston radio station WEEI on Wednesday. “I slid into his DMs. I said to him, ‘Get to New England, brother, and help this place get back to the championship.’”
### Myles Garrett Trade Outlook: ‘No Chance’
Now, to be clear, there are zero indications that the Browns are planning to trade Garrett. Ninkovich and others in Patriots Nation should be well reminded of that.
Here’s what ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on Twitter/X on the topic on Wednesday: “For those wondering if the Browns would consider trading Myles Garrett by Tuesday’s deadline, the answer is, in the words of one source, ‘No chance.’ Source added: ‘People have a better chance of winning the lottery.’”
The lottery, eh? So you’re saying there’s a chance?
### Patriots Could Take Advantage of Drake Maye’s Rookie Contract
It would take a massive haul — think two first-rounders and two Day 2 picks — to get Garrett. Despite the team’s fast start, there is a sense around the Patriots that they see themselves in the midst of a lengthy overhaul and won’t be making wild short-term moves no matter how well they’ve played.
It’s impossible to ignore, for example, the fact that the Patriots’ 6-2 record is built on opponents who are a combined 20-40.
Still, Ninkovich is all in, reminding the Patriots that Maye is still on his rookie deal and that they’ll have to pay Maye in a few years. They need to strike while the iron is hot.
https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/new-england-patriots/patriots-ex-super-bowl-champ-recruiting-browns-myles-garrett-for-trade/
