Myles Garrett is a Ram: Cleveland sent the reigning DPOY to LA for Jared Verse and three picks
The Browns landed a 25-year-old Pro Bowl edge plus a 2027 first, a 2028 second, and a 2029 third for the best pass rusher in football. Even getting Garrett, the return has people saying Cleveland won.
The Browns traded Myles Garrett, the two-time Defensive Player of the Year and the best pass rusher in football, to the Rams. In return Cleveland got Jared Verse, a 25-year-old two-time Pro Bowl edge, plus a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second, and a 2029 third. The headline is the player; the story is the haul.
What are the exact terms?
The Rams get Myles Garrett. The Browns get edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2029 third-round pick. Cleveland reportedly told Los Angeles that no deal would happen without Verse included, which is the detail that turned a pick package into a franchise-altering return.
Why would Cleveland trade the best pass rusher alive?
Garrett is coming off a record-setting 23-sack season and produced 33 tackles for loss in 2025, the second-highest total in modern league history behind J.J. Watt's 39 in 2012. You don't move a player like that for nothing, and the Browns didn't. The logic is a full reset: cash in a 30-year-old superstar at peak value for a younger building block plus three premium picks, and accelerate a rebuild around the draft capital.
What does Cleveland get in Jared Verse?
A 25-year-old ascending edge. Verse was the Rams' 2024 first-round pick and has produced 12 sacks and 22 tackles for loss across his first two seasons, making two Pro Bowls. He's not Garrett, but few are, and he's a decade younger and on a cheap rookie contract. For a rebuilding team, a productive young edge on a team-friendly deal plus three high picks is the kind of return that resets a timeline.
Who won?
Both can win, but the early consensus is that Cleveland did exceptionally well. The Rams get the reigning DPOY and the single most disruptive defender in the league, a clear win-now move for a contender. But the Browns extracted more than should have been reasonably expected even for Garrett: a Pro Bowl replacement and three premium picks. Los Angeles got the better player; Cleveland may have gotten the better trade.
Players in this story
Sources
- ESPN: Browns trade Myles Garrett to Rams for Jared Verse, three picks
- NFL.com: Browns trade Myles Garrett to Rams for Jared Verse, first-round pick
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