The Los Angeles Rams pulled off a blockbuster trade on Monday afternoon out of nowhere as they traded for reigning Defensive Player Of The Year Myles Garrett. Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the deal includes Jared Verse being sent to the Cleveland Browns, as well as a 2027 first-round pick and other draft picks. Those other draft picks include a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick, according to Schefter.
Verse is a rising star in the league, but Los Angeles can stomach trading the 25-year-old because Garrett is on a completely different level. Browns fans should be enamored to get somebody as talented as Verse back, even though it’s bittersweet to trade a franchise icon like Garrett. Verse has played two seasons in the NFL and is a two-time Pro Bowler and the Defensive Rookie of the Year recipient in 2024.
NFL fans didn’t ever hear a single peep about this rumor; the best kind of trades to go down as they come out of left field. Exactly like the Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers or the Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts trade this past season, stars being dealt out of nowhere.
Los Angeles has to be the best team in the league currently, as they made their second star trade of the offseason after trading for Trent McDuffie, formerly of the Kansas City Chiefs, for a first-round pick. They have the reigning MVP in Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams is really good, and they have arguably the best wide receiver duo in the league with Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
The Rams’ only concern last season was defensively, especially in the secondary, and they traded for McDuffie and brought over his Chiefs teammate Jaylen Watson in free agency. This is an absurdly stacked team now, and they have an insurance plan at QB with Ty Simpson. It might’ve made more sense to add another receiver instead of Simpson or trading down to get him, but they can’t change that action anymore.
Los Angeles is a win-now team with Stafford’s age, so they can make moves like this. This is a team that was one game away from most likely winning the Super Bowl last season if they had gotten past the Seattle Seahawks. They have a ton of tight end depth and now have good role players defensively in Byron Young, Poona Ford, Braden Fiske, and Kam Curl just to name a few.
Garrett is unbelievably special as he’s coming off a 23-sack season, which set the single-season record. This is also a player among edge rushers who was fourth in forced fumbles at 3, second in stops at 46, first in sacks at 25, eighth in hurries at 45, 11th in hits at 14, and fourth in total pressures at 84. Garrett is also incredibly durable, as he was third in total snaps at 869, third in run defense snaps at 362, and fifth in pass rush snaps at 507 according to PFF. This is the best defender in football we’re talking about here, one of the few bona fide elite pass rushers in the sport.
Verse, on the other hand, is quite good as he was fourth in solo tackles at 38, fifth in assists at 18, 4th in forced fumbles at 3, sixth in stops at 35, 28th in sacks at 8, sixth in hurries at 52, second in hits at 20, and sixth in total pressures at 80. Verse was also fifth in total snaps at 856, seventh in run defense snaps at 316, and third in pass rush snaps at 523 according to PFF.
Garrett is in the midst of a four-year $160M contract with a $23.7M cap hit in 2026, $27.7M cap hit in 2027, $29.89M cap hit in 2028, $64.7M cap hit in 2029, and a $57.99M cap hit in 2030 in his age 35 season.
Verse is currently on his four-year rookie contract, where his cap hit in 2026 is $4.12M, and his cap hit in 2027 is $4.8M with a club option in 2028 when he’s 28 years old.
Garrett is currently getting paid the big bucks, which he obviously earned and deserves, while Verse is due for a contract soon and will probably never be the player Garrett is. This seems like a no-brainer for the Rams to make this move.
The Rams should be looked at as the best team in the NFL currently after this superstar acquisition of Garrett, especially after trading for McDuffie and adding Watson in free agency to aid them in the secondary.
As long as Stafford is good to go, Adams’ hamstrings are intact, and Nacua is good to go, this should be your early Super Bowl favorite, fully healthy.
The Seahawks are undoubtedly still up there, and they should both be seen as the two best teams in the league as of now, especially for Seattle defensively. You also can’t forget that they have arguably the best wide receiver in the sport in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, one of the best corners in Devon Witherspoon, and a defensive mastermind in Mike Macdonald.
The Browns, on the other hand, continue to build from within and now have at least two first-round picks in a highly anticipated 2027 NFL draft class after an impressive 2026 draft class that they brought in.
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