It was an exciting Monday in the NFL, as two massive names were sent packing to new homes in blockbuster trades. A.J. Brown will now play in New England, meaning the Pittsburgh Steelers will still have to plan to play him at least once this year.
The much bigger news comes from the Rams acquiring long-time Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett.
A thorn in the side of Pittsburgh (and every team, frankly), Garrett heading west has been met with rejoicing from Steelers Nation. Not having to play him twice a season will lift a huge burden on this offensive line.
However, with the dust settled from the deal, it does cause some potential problems with anyone hoping for a T.J. Watt trade sooner rather than later.
The Myles Garrett trade puts some cold water on the Pittsburgh Steelers dealing T.J. Watt
While I would argue that Watt had a stretch where he was clearly better than Garrett, that narrative no longer exists. Watt is coming off back-to-back down seasons by his standard. Sure, injuries were a part of that problem, but his effectiveness on the field has declined in recent years.
To see how little Garrett went for makes the idea of trading Watt hard to stomach.
Yes, the haul was still impressive, but it felt like the Browns still had to take a discount in order to get this deal done. Garrett is the reigning DPOY and just set the sack record a year ago. While older, he should still have multiple years as one of the top defenders in the NFL.
They got a single first-round pick back as well as a future second and third-round pick. That isn’t chump change, but considering the asset the Rams acquired, it feels light.
Jared Verse was also involved in the deal. The former first-round pick is an ascending player, but he isn’t the dominant force that Garrett is.
With all that in mind, what would Watt’s trade value be? Given his decline and hefty contract, I can no longer see a world where you get a first-round pick for him. Heck, I’m not sure a team would be willing to fork over a second-round pick unless they truly thought Watt was the missing piece of a Super Bowl-caliber team.
Add in the fact that Watt isn’t going anywhere right now (even after the Nick Herbig extension), meaning the next time we have these discussions, he will be another year older. Unless he recaptures some of his earlier success, his value will only trend down.
The Garrett trade came as a shock, and while the Browns did get some assets, it feels light compared to the player they got rid of. With that trade in the rearview mirror, Watt feels even more stuck in Pittsburgh.
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