The Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams agreed to terms on a blockbuster trade that will send two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to the Rams for star pass rusher Jared Verse and a trio of picks, the teams announced. The move alters the balance of power in the NFC and sets Cleveland on a new path without its most accomplished player.
In addition to Verse, the Rams are sending the Browns a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick. The deal is pending physicals.
Garrett, 30, set an NFL single-season record with 23 sacks in 2025 and won his second Defensive Player of the Year honor. The Browns, who are in the midst of a roster rebuild and are looking to end their perpetual quarterback carousel, shifted their previous commitment to retain Garrett and will look to the future with the acquisition of multiple premium draft picks. The Browns only made the playoffs twice in Garrett’s nine seasons.
Garrett made a trade demand public in early 2025 and vowed not to return to Cleveland. The Browns resisted the idea of trading Garrett — publicly and privately — and signed him to an extension in March 2025 that included more than $122 million in guaranteed money. However, after a second straight fourth-place finish in 2025, the Browns fired head coach Kevin Stefanski, hired Todd Monken as his replacement and will now move forward without Garrett, who has 125.5 career sacks.
Garrett did not participate in the team’s voluntary offseason program and did not personally meet with Monken after his hiring.
The Browns chose not to hire defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz as their new head coach in January, and the team and Garrett agreed to a contract modification in late March that deferred around $29 million in total bonus payments due to Garrett by September over the next three years. That modification made it more financially feasible for the Browns to trade Garrett, and the trade happened now because of the NFL’s post-June 1 salary-cap rules.
“We have long taken the stance that our goal was for Myles Garrett to be a one-helmet player for his entire career,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said in a statement Monday afternoon. “After rewriting the record books and representing our organization with excellence, we were sincere in that desire as we entered this offseason and did not envision a world where Myles was not a Cleveland Brown.
“When the Rams first approached us with the possibility of trading Myles, we remained convicted in our position, but as discussions intensified, we were stuck at a legitimate crossroads: Do we hold on to a truly generational player who has become the identity of our team, or do we make the difficult decision that we think is best for the organization over the long run? In that framework, the decision became clear.”
Because the trade will be processed after June 1, the Browns will carry $15.53 million in dead money from Garrett’s contract on their 2026 salary cap and the remaining $25.56 million in dead money in 2027.
The Browns made Garrett the No. 1 pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, and after he missed the first four games of his rookie season with a high ankle sprain, he recorded a sack on his first NFL play. He broke the franchise record for career sacks in his sixth season, and last season he became the first player to record at least 12 sacks in six consecutive seasons.
Why the Rams made this massive deal
When the Rams looked back on last season’s run to the NFC Championship Game, what they found missing was star-caliber play on defense. Remember, this was a franchise that won a Super Bowl in 2021 with Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey making star plays at premium positions, and such impact was noticeably missing in three playoff games last season, when pass rushers Verse, Byron Young and Kobie Turner combined for just one sack.
Now, the Rams have two “closer” types on defense thanks to two trades. First, they made a move for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, and now for the two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year at defensive end. The Garrett trade meant moving off the long-term upside of Verse, but it underscores how much the franchise wants to win it all in quarterback Matthew Stafford’s 18th NFL season, one year removed from his first Most Valuable Player trophy.
That thinking helped fuel the selection of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th pick in this year’s draft, a team source previously told The Athletic, because it left free the team’s 2027 draft picks in a league that widely values this upcoming draft as much stronger than the 2026 edition. — Nate Atkins, Rams beat writer
Why the Browns were willing to move their best player
The Browns felt their timeline didn’t match Garrett’s. And frankly, both sides were probably exhausted by their inability to make their timelines and priorities meet.
Garrett had significant influence within the organization, and the time had come for the Browns to either get clarity on a forward-facing approach or get Garrett to buy in, which likely wasn’t going to happen. Garrett now gets to chase a Super Bowl right away, while the Browns get Verse plus clarity and flexibility in finalizing their plans. There’s no replacing Garrett as a player, but the Browns now acknowledge that their best way forward is to start anew in building around a young core. — Zac Jackson, Browns beat writer
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