Today is an important date on the NFL calendar. Without going too far into the weeds on the salary cap, league accounting and all that nerdy jazz, June 1 is important because after that date, teams are allowed to defer consequences and make roster moves they otherwise couldn’t. 

There’s a very prominent and practical example this year with the Eagles and WR A.J. Brown, who’s been the subject of what feels like endless trade speculation since last fall. Normally when a player is cut or traded, all of the remaining dead money on their contract moves up to the current year. After June 1, teams are only responsible for the dead money in the current season with the rest hitting the books the following year. 

In Brown’s case, trading him before June 1 would have resulted in a $43 million dead money charge — $20 million more than his current cap hit for Philadelphia. Put another way, the Eagles would have lost $20 million in cap space by trading Brown. But after June 1, the Eagles are only on the hook for $16 million in dead money this year and the rest in 2027, saving them $7 million in cap space. 

That’s why the expectation for weeks and weeks has been that the Eagles will finalize a Brown trade sometime this month, with the Patriots far and away the leading contender to win the sweepstakes for the star wideout. It might not happen right away as the two sides haggle over compensation, but barring some kind of dramatic plot twist, Brown is going to be a Patriot this fall. 

That’s not the only big-time trade to watch out for, however. After June 1, there are a handful of other high-profile trades that could become much more realistic thanks to the salary cap implications. There’s not the same immediate time peg as there is with a Brown trade, so some of these situations might not develop until later in the summer or even during the regular season before the trade deadline. 

There’s plenty of smoke, though. And where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. Here are three situations to monitor for trade buzz blazing up in the coming months. 

Browns DE Myles Garrett

Something fishy is going on in Cleveland. The Browns will swear up and down that they’re not trading Garrett, that the plan is for him to be a Brown for life. They held firm last year when he demanded a trade and the two sides instead reached a massive, $40 million per year extension that kept him in town. 

But actions always speak louder than words, and the actions from the two parties this year undercut the party line out of the Browns’ building. Consider: 

1. The Browns moved back the due date for Garrett’s option bonuses from March to September
2. Garrett has not met new HC Todd Monken in person yet

Option bonuses have become popular in the last decade or so, with teams like the Eagles and Browns relying on them heavily. They essentially are a way to pre-restructure a contract and give clubs more flexibility with how they handle the salary cap. A team has the “option” to pay the player a bonus, with a deadline written into the contract for when a decision has to be made one way or the other. An option bonus is treated like a signing bonus for salary cap purposes, spread out over the remainder of the deal up to five years. 

Unlike signing bonuses, however, the money is not actually due to the player until after the option is exercised. If a team trades a player before exercising his option, the new team inherits responsibility for the payment. If a deal is done after the option is paid out, it stays on the books for the original team as dead money. 

Originally, Garrett’s option bonuses in 2026, 2027 and 2028 were due in mid-March on the third day of the NFL league year. Now, they’re due on September 1. It should arch your eyebrows that not only is that just before the start of the regular season, it’s also after June 1. 

Why does that matter? 

Theoretically let’s say the Browns decided they wanted to trade Garrett this year. Under the terms of his original contract, the Browns would have had to find a taker before his option was due in mid-March, otherwise they would have been on the hook for the extra money. If a trade didn’t come together until the end of March or the draft, all of that money would have hit the Browns’ cap straight away. 

With the option not due until September, the Browns can take their time, and also take advantage of a post-June 1 trade splitting the dead money hit between two years. It doesn’t mean the team will trade Garrett — and they insist they’re not — but it does give them flexibility if they do go down that road at any point over the next three years. 

In fact, the only benefit for the Browns in moving back the date for the option bonuses is that it creates more flexibility for a potential trade. There is literally no other impact to the salary cap, and Garrett’s guarantees in the next few years remain in place. Cleveland even made a small concession to get Garrett to agree to this deal, converting $8 million of his salary in 2029 and 2030 into bonuses due before the season. 

That’s why the Browns protestations that there’s nothing to see here ring hollow. I do think they’re sincere to the point that trading Garrett is not something they’re pursuing (right now). But there’s no reason to make this contract adjustment unless you want to open the door to trading Garrett in the future. The Browns certainly haven’t explained any alternative rationale, only saying this gives them cap flexibility. 

The other big factor in this equation is Garrett, and that’s where the second bullet listed above becomes relevant. It’s not unusual that Garrett is not at voluntary OTAs with the team right now. That’s been standard procedure for much of his career and it hasn’t held him back. 

It’s way more unusual that he hasn’t met Monken in person yet, though the two have at least spoken. Monken was hired almost exactly four months ago, and Garrett has been in and out of Cleveland during that time. You would think the two would make it a priority to link up to chat considering Garrett is a future Hall of Famer and the most important player on the team. It’s not the biggest deal in the world but it’s certainly weird. 

The context here is also critical. The Browns got Garrett to buy back in last year after his public trade request, not just with a truckload of money but by selling him on their long-term vision. He had a monster season, breaking the NFL single-season sack record, but it didn’t lead to wins and that clearly wore on Garrett throughout the season. 

When the Browns fired former HC Kevin Stefanski, DC Jim Schwartz was one of the strong candidates to replace him. Schwartz helped solidify the Browns’ defense, including finishing No. 1 in total defense in 2023. He had Garrett’s endorsement as the hire. However, the Browns wanted a coach with a background on offense to help develop a future franchise quarterback, whether he was on the roster right now or not, and Cleveland passed over Schwartz for Monken. He didn’t take kindly to being snubbed and resigned despite the Browns lobbying for him to stay on and run the defense. 

Given all this, it would be no surprise to learn that Garrett has major doubts about the direction of the franchise. Still, if that’s the case then so far he’s been a lot quieter than he was last year, when he did a whole tour of Radio Row at the Super Bowl to put pressure on the Browns. In fact, Garrett has hardly spoken to the press since the end of the season. 

The Browns have mandatory minicamp from June 9-11. If Garrett shows up, he’ll likely be made available to talk about where he stands with the team and Monken. If he doesn’t, that makes him subject to fines and pours a bucket of gasoline on a story that to this point as only just started to smolder. Either way, it’s fair to say the future of Garrett in Cleveland is absolutely an open question in the coming months. 

Cardinals OLB Josh Sweat

There’s not nearly as much cloak and dagger when it comes to where things stand between Sweat and the Cardinals. Just a year after being a high-profile free agent signing and coming off of a season in which he had double-digit sacks, Sweat is not happy in Arizona. Whether his frustrations stem from the losing, his contract, the Cardinals firing his longtime coach Jonathan Gannon or all of the above, Sweat has not been at voluntary OTAs. Other teams smell blood in the water and have been circling.

Because Sweat signed a big deal just last year, it slightly benefits the Cardinals to wait until after June 1 to do a deal. There’s $22 million in dead money on his deal currently, $7.2 million of which was from an option bonus that was paid back in March. Trading Sweat before June 1 would cost the Cardinals $5.6 million in cap space. 

Arizona has over $31 million right now, so that $5 million probably isn’t the biggest consideration. Trading Sweat before paying him the option bonus probably would have been ideal. However, if he’s really disgruntled and the Cardinals get a decent offer as training camp approaches, this is a situation to watch. 

Trading Sweat after June 1 frees up nearly $11 million in cap space, not that the Cardinals have much to spend it on at this point. Arizona feels like one of the teams that’s maybe not all that invested in putting the best roster together in 2026, with eyes on a bumper crop of 2027 quarterback prospects. From that perspective, it also makes sense to trade the 29-year-old Sweat, especially if the Cardinals can get back a pretty solid pick. Then again, Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort isn’t going to want to undo too much of the progress he’s supposedly made the last three years. 

This is a situation that might not develop until training camp, as there’s not really a rush for teams to make moves before then. You can connect the dots and guess that Sweat would probably want a new contract as a part of a trade, which is another hoop to jump through. However, teams are always looking to fortify the pass rush, so there will absolutely be some kind of market for Sweat if the Cardinals look to trade him. 

Nearly Every Notable Dolphins Veteran

For the second time in the past decade, the Dolphins are pretty blatantly unconcerned with being competitive in an upcoming season. Miami hit the reset button hard, making multiple trades and cuts to clean up its salary cap situation all in one offseason. They have more money on their books for players not on the roster (nearly $180 million in dead money) compared to $127 million in active spending in 2026. 

The Dolphins didn’t ship out every veteran player, but they were seemingly willing to move just about anyone, as evidenced by WR Jaylen Waddle getting dealt to the Broncos. It feels like the biggest hurdle that prevented more trades was the fact Miami actually needed to restructure some deals to get under the salary cap. With June 1 coming up, though, the job of managing the cap will get a lot easier. 

First, there will be an influx of cap space from the post-June 1 release of OLB Bradley Chubb kicking in, giving the Dolphins enough space to sign their draft class and have a little bit of in-season wiggle room. Second, the dead money implications of trading more veterans become a lot easier to manage, spreading out the dead money and preventing Miami from losing cap space that it can’t afford to. 

The Dolphins still have a handful of notable players who could and should draw interest between now and the trade deadline in the middle of the regular season. That list could include: 

• LB Jordyn Brooks
• C Aaron Brewer
• RT Austin Jackson
• LB Tyrel Dodson
• DT Zach Sieler

Everyone except for Sieler is in a contract year in 2026, leaving their future with the team murky. It makes a lot of sense for the Dolphins to flip some of those players for picks now to further augment the rebuild in 2027. That’s especially true if they’re players the team knows it probably won’t keep long-term, or who are old enough that it’s hard to project them being contributors by the team the Dolphins are competitive again. That was how the team explained trading away Waddle, specifically citing the need to give him an updated contract at some point. 

Miami likely won’t get as much for anyone listed here as they did for Waddle but it’s possible they could extra another few picks. Brooks is a quality starter but the Dolphins drafted two linebackers behind him. Brewer was second-team All-Pro last season, and we highlighted him as a player the Ravens in particular might have interest in. The Dolphins have two young tackles in Kadyn Proctor and Patrick Paul who they seem to like long-term, making Jackson potentially expendable. Sieler is a force up front but is going into his age-32 season. 

All of these players would have cost the Dolphins cap space in a trade before June 1. After that date, there are savings on the table in a trade — not a lot but enough to make it more of a practical consideration for the Dolphins. Look for training camp and the regular season to heat this up more, especially if the Dolphins struggle as much as everyone expects.