The Los Angeles Chargers head into the new league year with big questions to answer across their defensive line, namely the impending free agency of Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. If a deal isn’t in the cards, the Chargers could be left without a proven pass rusher on the roster.
When Myles Garrett demanded a trade away from the Cleveland Browns, Chargers fan’s ears perked up. Not only would a trade for Garrett solve the pass rush problem, but he is still firmly seated in the prime of his career, unlike Mack or Bosa.
A trade of this magnitude would certainly come with a massive price tag. But Pro Football Talk suggested it could contain an even more insidious packaging in the form of Deshaun Watson.
Would The Los Angeles Chargers Pay The Deshan Tax To Land Myles Garrett?
PFT’s Mike Florio calls it the Deshaun Tax;
“While Browns owner Jimmy Haslam might decide to dig in his heels and refuse to give Garrett what he wants, there’s a way to eliminate a pair of massive headaches with one pill. The message would go like this: “If you want Myles Garrett, you have to take Deshaun Watson.” It would amount to an extra $92 million commitment, with the new team getting Garrett and owing Watson the balance of his five-year, $230 million, fully guaranteed contract. The new team wouldn’t put Watson on the field. He’s already highly unlikely to play in 2025, given that he had surgery last month on his re-torn Achilles tendon.“
While it certainly would put any team interested in Garrett in a bind, it does prove that the Browns are in the driver’s seat at the moment with any trade proposal.
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The Browns got themselves well behind the eight ball when they signed Watson to a massive unprecedented fully guaranteed contract, betting the troubled quarterback could return to his previous level of play, while also avoiding suspension and perhaps jail time. This would give the Browns a new start.
From the Chargers side of things, it would solve a pesky pickle they find themselves in and Jim Harbaugh is the kind of coach to bend morality to win football games.