Getty
Kevin Stefanski walking forward
Over the next few weeks to months, the Cleveland Browns will have to decide which direction they want to head toward. After signing Myles Garrett to a monster extension, the Browns signaled they wanted to win sooner rather than later.
Much of that will come down to who starts at quarterback for Cleveland moving forward. If the Browns have below-average quarterback play, it doesn’t matter if Garrett, Denzel Ward, or anyone else is on the roster.
For Ward, however, trading him could make sense, especially with the questions the Browns have.
Matthew Schmidt of Sports Illustrated proposed the idea of trading him, adding that a deal could fetch the Browns a first-round pick, something Cleveland might not want to waste.
“The Browns could bring in quite a haul for Ward right now. They would almost certainly be able to land a first-round draft pick from someone given the value placed on good corners in the modern NFL. It would be difficult for Cleveland not to consider that.
“This isn’t necessarily a plea for the Browns to trade Ward. He is an outstanding player, and if Cleveland is planning on trying to contend in 2025 (which it probably won’t, but anyway), then keeping Ward on the roster is certainly in its best interest. However, it’s also hard to ignore the fact that Ward’s trade value is through the roof at the moment, and the Browns would be remiss to not at least weigh the possibility of moving him,” Schmidt wrote.
Did Garrett Re-Signing Help Ward?
When Garrett announced that he wanted the Cleveland Browns to trade him, Ward was one of the players who came out and had comments about it.
He understood why Garrett wanted to be traded but added that it “has a huge impact” on him.
“[Garrett’s trade request] has a huge impact, honestly,” Ward said, according to Cleveland.com. “I want to play with Myles Garrett. He’s a Hall of Fame player. I came in the league, he was on the team, and that’s my guy. So I’ve been talking to him and I know he said he wants out, but you’ve just got to hear where he’s coming from.”
From the sound of things, Ward already had one foot out of the door if the Browns moved Garrett.
However, he added that he wants to be in Cleveland. The issue was he wanted the Browns to have Garrett. Now that he’s back, this should help the Browns keep him around and not have to worry about him requesting a trade.
“I’m not going to say I don’t want to be here. I definitely want to be in Cleveland and play for Cleveland, but I think it’s just tough,” Ward said. “I would hope we wouldn’t trade a guy like Myles Garrett away. That would be hard to see, and I would have to see the idea of, are we trying to win if we’re trading Hall of Fame players like that?”
What Should Cleveland Do?
Any trade should be looked at from the sense of whether the Cleveland Browns would be better in the short and long term. Ward, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, would be tough to replace.
If the Browns landed a first-round pick in return for him, it’s something they should consider. However, the Browns would also hope whoever they draft with that pick would be as good as him one day.
While it’s possible, the chances aren’t in their favor.
Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan
