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 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 good.
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 at 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.’”
(Photo by Michael J. Ivins/Getty Images)Former New England Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich at the Patriots’ 2017 Super Bowl celebration.
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 Rookie Contract
It would take a massive haul (two first-rounders, two Day 2 picks?) to get Garrett, though, and 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 improvements 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 20-40 combined.
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.
“I know (coach Mike) Vrabel said he wants to build through the draft, but if you can go get a guy that can get to the quarterback, and you have to double-team him and chip him, whatever you spend, it’s going to come back to you,” he said. “Because in the playoffs when you play in a team that has maybe three or four weapons, well, then they only have two or three because they have to take a guy out, they got to make sure they chip them.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Patriots Ex-Super Bowl Champ Recruiting Browns’ Myles Garrett for Trade appeared first on Heavy Sports.