Despite some national narratives, the Eagles were never any kind of favorite to land disgruntled Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett in what Howie Roseman has described as a maintenance offseason for the Super Bowl champions.
If available, Garrett, 30, is too good and there would be too much interest when the main goal from a Browns perspective would be draft capital and re-setting the financial landscape with the more cost effective deals on a younger player(s) with upside.
The Eagles' on-field success means their upcoming draft choices aren't as enticing as others.
What hasn't changed is that the six-time All-Pro seems hellbent on getting out of Cleveland to a more consistently competitive environment to the point that Garrett requested a meeting with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam to try to usurp the more football-centric approach of GM Andrew Berry, once a Roseman lieutenant in Philadelphia.
Reports from Cleveland say that the request to meet with Haslam was denied.
The push there from Garrett's side had to do with timing. The legal negotiation period starts at noon on Monday and the new league year begins on March 12. There will be a flurry of moves in those opening days of free agency with teams declaring their intentions for the 2025 season.
The Garrett camp understands that teams can't afford to wait even for a future Hall of Fame player because the contingencies will dry up quickly and other competent options at a position of value around the NFL will dry up quickly.
To swing for the fences is one thing. To do it at the cost of eschewing a potential double in the gap is a bad approach.
To date, Berry has not entertained offers for Garrett or even calls from others to try to feel the Browns GM out.
An NFL source told Philadelphia Eagles on SI that the Browns remain committed to keeping their best player and there have been no signs that will change with free agency kicking off even with the last-minute approach to signal Haslam.
Financially the Browns would also take a $36 million dead money hit and a nearly $16.5M hit against the cap by trading Garrett before June 1. Post-June 1, those numbers become much more manageable but the market is much smaller with teams already allocating the majority of their budgets.
Garrett is the type of player organizations will move mountains for and the Super Bowl LIX champs fit the player's desire for competitiveness like a glove. The relationship between Roseman and Berry also helps as does the Eagles GM's cachet and willingness to make major moves.
There are still too many hurdles in between those truths to project Garrett in Philadelphia.
