Are you watching closely? While the Philadelphia Eagles were able to free up some cap space in their extension with running back Saquon Barkley, the Las Vegas Raiders may have unintentionally hurt the Birds’ chances of trading for Myles Garrett. With Maxx Crosby getting his mega-extension from the Silver and Black, fewer teams might be able to afford taking on the Cleveland Browns‘ next contract.
One would think that Garrett, Pittsburgh Steelers star TJ Watt and maybe even Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals could eclipse what Crosby just got from the Raiders. If that is the case, then I think we might be able to cross off more than just the Eagles, who have a shade over $17.5 million in cap space. This does not look well for teams like the Detroit Lions or the Green Bay Packers either…
Green Bay has over $46.6 million in cap space, but are not destined to be the highest bidder for Garrett’s elite services. The Packers rarely sign players in NFL free agency, let alone trade for them. As far as the Lions are concerned, Detroit has a bit more space than Green Bay at roughly $51.4 million, but that still has them outside the top 10 in terms of space. I see four contenders for Garrett.
They are the Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings and Washington Commanders.
Maxx Crosby contract extension knocks teams out of Myles Garrett race
In the lead up to NFL free agency, the Cardinals, Rams, Vikings and Commander all reside inside the top eight in cap space. The Rams have the least at a shade over $55 million, followed by the Vikings with over $63.8 million. After that, the Cardinals have the second most at $77.8 million. That leaves us with Washington having the most available space of any near-NFC contender at over $78.5 million.
Those four teams all have a the finances to take on Garrett’s next contract in the hopes of winning now and in the future. Los Angeles, Minnesota and Washington were all playoff teams a year ago, while Arizona was in the mix for a postseason berth heading into the final week. In my estimation, we have been looking at the wrong group of teams for who could end up trading for Garrett this March.
Of the would-be contenders for his services, I feel the most bad for Detroit. The Lions are a well-run operation now. They need a pass-rusher, but are destined to get outbid by seemingly everyone who wants him. Philadelphia just won a Super Bowl, so I am not rooting to see Garrett go there. The Packers have and always will do things differently. To me, their indifference in all this is so off-putting.
If Garrett does not end up in Detroit, Green Bay or Philadelphia, we can thank the Crosby extension.