Broncos shouldn’t trade for Myles Garrett, instead pay Nik Bonitto

The Denver Broncos got a huge season out of Nik Bonitto in 2024.

Now it’s time to reward him with a monster new contract.

When Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett requested a trade on Monday, social media was predictably abuzz. Many in Broncos Country want head coach Sean Payton and GM George Paton to acquire Garrett.

That’s not a bad idea on the surface, but remember, Garrett only has two years left on his current deal. Whichever team trades from him is going to be immediately expected to rip up his old contract and give him a massive deal.

The price will start at what Nick Bosa got from the San Francisco 49ers. A cool five years and $170 million, with $122.5 million of that guaranteed.

Thanks, but no thanks.

That’s way too much money to pay Garrett when the focus of the Broncos should be adding weapons around QB Bo Nix and keeping their best players in house.

Bonitto proved to be that this past year, finishing with 13.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovered and two touchdowns. He made game-changing plays in wins against both the Browns and Colts and was certainly the second best player on the Broncos defense behind star cornerback Pat Surtain II.

If Denver was willing to give fellow edge-rusher Jonathon Cooper a $60 million contract with $33 million in guarantees in November, Bonitto should be somewhere in the middle. Around $100 million seems to make sense, a nice bump above Cooper but way less than what Garrett will eventually cost.

At his end of season press conference, Paton made some surprising headlines when he said he and the Bonitto camp weren’t in contact about an extension.

“It’s a really good question. We haven’t even had those conversations yet. I mean, Nik has had a great year, obviously we’d love to have Nik here long term,” Paton said.

That’s a mistake on Paton’s part. These are the type of moves he has to get out in front of. Bonitto was a dark-horse for NFL Defensive Player of the Year at one point. The Broncos should reward him right now and put any Garrett fantasies to bed.

Bonitto is scheduled to make a base salary next year of just over $5.2 million. That’s a crazy low number for a player of his production level, and Paton and the rest of Denver’s decision makers should rectify that immediately.

It’d be wise for Bonitto to cash a big fact check from the Broncos before mini-camp and OTAs are here and he might not be around, unhappy with his current deal.

We saw that last year with wide receiver Courtland Sutton, and while it all worked out in the end, it made for an uncomfortable spring and summer.

As for Garrett, he’s a great player, there’s no dancing around that. He’s posted at least 14 sacks over the last four seasons, while also making five straight Pro Bowls. A future Hall of Famer, Garrett will go down as one of the best defensive players of this generation.

But he’s also 29-years-old, and has played 117 games for the Browns. Those kind of guys lose a step eventually, and unless your name is Von Miller, careers like that don’t last forever. At least, not at a supremely high level. For perspective, Bonitto is only 25-years-old.

“While I’ve loved calling this city my home, my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won’t allow me to be complacent. The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl,” Garrett said in his statement on Monday.

The Broncos have too many other issues to solve, particularly on offense, before trading extremely valuable assets for a player like Garrett would make sense. He’s best suited to go pursue a title somewhere else over the next couple of years.

Denver should sit this one out and pay Nik Bonitto instead. That’s the more savvy move for now and now on.