If you ask any fan of the Atlanta Falcons what the team’s biggest need is, you will likely get the same answer. The defensive pass rush continues to be a problem year after year. In 2024, the team ranked 31st in total sacks despite the offseason addition of Matthew Judon.
On Monday, one of the league’s best edge rushers, Myles Garrett, requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns as he looks to take on a new challenge. That challenge is to compete for a Super Bowl. That begs the question, can the Falcons make a move for Garrett?
The first hurdle for Atlanta is the salary cap. Currently, the team is $11 million over the projected salary cap limit, and the Browns are $30 million over, per Over The Cap‘s projections. While this might suggest a trade would help Cleveland, any move before June 1 would be extremely expensive for the Browns.
This is because Garrett has a salary cap hit of $19 million for this season, and trading him away would force Cleveland to eat the remaining portion of his prorated signing bonus, thus taking on a massive dead cap hit of $36 million.
As for the Falcons, if they were to make a move for Garrett, his salary would only cost them just over $1 million in 2025 because his salary cap hit is made up of almost $15 million in prorated signing bonus and another $3 million in other bonuses. The Falcons would only be held responsible for his base salary of $1,255.000.
Now, addressing the salary cap for the Falcons, cuts will have to be made regardless. So it makes sense to do so for the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. But do the Falcons have the players to tempt the Browns into a deal? The short answer is probably not.
Arguably the biggest need for the Browns is a quarterback, and the Falcons don’t have one to offer. Atlanta could attempt to bait them with Kirk Cousins, but his limitations under center were made very apparent in 2024.
Atlanta could offer up Kyle Pitts, which would free up $10 million in cap space. Pitts’ value has diminished in recent seasons but he’s still young enough to fetch something in return.
When it comes to the salary cap in the modern-day NFL, there always seems some backroom magic to help teams become cap-compliant. In his trade request, Garrett stated his desire is to compete and win championships. Are the Falcons at that level yet or would he be back in the same situation he is in Cleveland?
The Falcons haven’t made the playoffs since the 2017 season. The team may be on an upward trajectory, but the fact is, until they make the playoffs, it’s just a trajectory and nothing more. Since the Falcons last went to the postseason, the Browns have gone twice, with one win in 2020, and have more wins in the regular season than Atlanta.
Experts around the league may project Atlanta as a potential landing destination, but that’s just because the glaring need is there for the team. Myles is an exceptional player, but probably too expensive for Atlanta at the moment.