While the Super Bowl is just around the corner, everybody who isn’t the Chiefs or Eagles have set their sights toward the offseason and what moves can be made so that they’re playing this time next year. If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers want to be in that spot they’re going to need to figure out a way to vastly improve the pass rush, which is why news that Myles Garrett is on the trade block comes as such a wonderful surprise.
It’s not totally a surprise. As yet another season slipped through the cracks in Cleveland, whispers began that Garrett might want to be traded to a contender so he can have a legit shot at a Super Bowl. Those murmurs went sonic on Monday when Garrett officially requested a trade, which has kickstarted what should be a wild bidding war for his services.
Luka DOncic getting traded in the middle of the night, this is not.
Tampa Bay won’t be the only team looking to get in on a Garrett trade, but tehy would be somewhere near the front of the line. Just about every team that’s truly serious about contending next year will want to land the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and the initial asking price is just as insane as it should be.
Buccaneers have a starting point if they want to trade for Myles Garrett
According to The Atheltic’s Diana Russini, it sounds like any trade package for Garrett would have to include at least a first round pick plus a player. Things can change, but if the Buccaneers are going to acquire Garrett it’s not going to be cheap.
One NFL GM on what a trade for Myles Garrett could look like:
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) February 3, 2025
“Probably a 1+. Can’t wait for the
“It will be 3 1s” crowd. Not happening.
1 and a 2. 1 and 2 3s. Throw a player in there.” https://t.co/xGRlikiwr2
That still somehow feels like a bargain given how generationally great Garrett it. He’s still in the prime of this career and is by far the best pass rusher in the NFL, which makes the idea that he’s available almost seem too good to be true.
One thing that could stand in the way of the Bucs getting involved in the Myles Garrett Sweepstakes, though, is the fact that Jason Licht hates parting ways with draft picks. It will take multiple picks to get a deal done, which has been a point of hesitancy for Tampa Bay’s front office in the past.
The last time the Buccaneers acquired a player in a trade was 2020 when Licht sent a draft pick to New England for Rob Gronkowski. Other than it’s either been Tampa Bay trading players away or Licht wheeling and dealing draft picks to move around the board.
In fact, Licht has only ever traded for two players other than Gronk who were already in the league: Logan Mankins in 2014 and Jason Pierre-Paul in 2018. Neither of those were blockbuster deals, so getting involved in a deal for Garrett would truly be uncharted territory for the Bucs.
That being said, this isn’t some mid-level trade the team would be trying to pull off. Garrett could be the difference between Tampa Bay reaching the same level of success it did last year and winning a Super Bow, and we’ve seen Licht take massive swings like that in the past.
We’ll see how things ultimately play out, but if the Bucs are going to get in on the Garrett sweepstakes then they at the very least know where the starting point is.
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