At this point, a post-June 1 trade of Eagles receiver A.J. Brown should be expected. The changing of the calendar from May to June opens the door to other possible trades.
The benefit comes from the ability to spread the dead-money charge over multiple seasons. This makes it more attractive for high-profile players with big-money contracts to be moved to a new team after June 1.
The biggest name that potentially lands in the post-June 1 trade category (other than Brown) is Browns defensive end Myles Garrett. Last month, we reviewed the mixed signals emanating from Cleveland as to whether that could happen.
His recent contract restructuring delayed his annual option bonus until seven days before the start of the regular season. With the Browns not required to pay Garrett $29.2 million by March 15, that instantly became a factor pointing toward a potential move.
After June 1, a trade would actually create cap space for the Browns by sending Garrett’s 2026 option bonus and his 2026 salary to a new team, leaving behind only his 2026 bonus proration ($15.534 million) on the books this year. Any remaining cap charge would move to 2027, offset by the unloading of his 2027 cap number if he were still on the team.
So, yes, Garrett’s deal becomes tradable after June 1 — even though the Browns have insisted he won’t be traded.
Other veterans become easier to trade from a cap standpoint after June 1. The most obvious post-June 1 trade candidate is Saints running back Alvin Kamara, who has been supplanted by the arrival of Travis Etienne.
The Cardinals, who paid defensive end Josh Sweat a guaranteed option bonus of $7.22 million in March, could trade him after June 1 and push $16.515 million in cap charges into 2027. (They’re reportedly getting calls about Sweat, who has been absent from offseason workouts.)
A trade of Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby remains a possibility, but the passing of June 1 doesn’t impact the cap consequences. His current contract has no bonus proration beyond 2026.
However it goes, June 1 (which used to mark a fresh wave of free agency before teams could cut players with a post-June 1 designation) remains a key date as it relates to the trading of contracts with significant dead money still attached to them.
Read the full article here
