Myles Garrett Traded To Los Angeles Rams For Jared Verse And Three Draft Picks In Historic Blockbuster Deal

The Cleveland Browns traded two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams for two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Jared Verse and multiple draft picks, the teams announced Monday.

L.A. acquired the reigning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in a trade with the Browns, shipping Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick to Cleveland, the teams announced on Monday.

To ensure the trade happened, Garrett waived his no-trade clause. Per ESPN, it’s the first time since 1997 that a reigning Defensive Player of the Year has changed teams the following offseason.

How The Trade Actually Happened: Persistent Rams, Reluctant Browns

The Browns vociferously insisted all offseason they weren’t planning on trading Garrett, the face of the franchise, after inking him to a four-year, $160 million extension last offseason.

The Rams refused to give up what one source called their “persistent pursuit” of Garrett. Los Angeles, according to sources, continued calling and calling — the only team that tried to pry loose a player the Browns once deemed untouchable.

The Rams initially offered a package of picks in return for Garrett, but Cleveland held firm to its public stance of not dealing its defensive standout. The Browns told the Rams that no deal would get done without including the 25-year-old Verse, the Rams’ 2024 first-round pick who has had 12 sacks and 22 tackles for loss the past two seasons.

Rapoport said, “And then they got together a little bit later and said, OK, well, what if Verse is in it and we adjusted these picks? And then suddenly, I’d say around late last week, they got pretty close. And yesterday afternoon, they finalized this deal.”

When the club modified his option bonus from March to seven days before the regular season, it opened up a greater possibility of the Browns moving on from the edge rusher. Once they got past the June 1 deadline, the Browns signaled their full-on rebuild by moving their best player. Waiting until now has allowed Cleveland to split the $41 million in dead money on the salary cap over the next two seasons — $15.53 million in 2026, $25.56 million in 2027 — rather than taking it all on in 2026.

The Full Trade Breakdown

Los Angeles traded a first-round pick in 2027, a second-round pick in 2028, a third-round pick in 2029 and a wildly talented edge rusher in third-year pro Jared Verse to Cleveland in exchange for Garrett.

Complete Trade Package

Myles Garrett: The Man Who Just Reset The NFL Record Books

He had a new achievement as he set a new NFL single-season record with 23 sacks for his team. He also earned the Defensive Player of the Year award for the second time in his career.

Garrett has been named a first-team All-Pro in five of the past six seasons, earned six consecutive Pro Bowls and had at least 10 sacks in each of the past eight campaigns — all but his rookie season in 2017.

It’s fair to wonder whether he might have been the best player in football in 2025, even if he didn’t generate serious MVP consideration by virtue of playing on the Browns. But he was comfortably the most productive defensive player in the game. In addition to setting the single-season sack record, Garrett produced 33 tackles for loss, the second-highest total in modern league history behind J.J. Watt’s 39 in 2012.

In nine seasons, Garrett has gobbled up 125.5 career sacks, tied for 20th all time.

Myles Garrett’s Career Highlights

Garrett’s Farewell To Cleveland

Garrett, in a social media post, thanked the Browns and their fans, saying the city of Cleveland shaped him and “made me tougher,” adding the “best days of this franchise are ahead.” “Loving you is easy, leaving you is the hard part,” he wrote.

Over the last two seasons, Garrett wasn’t bashful about how the Browns’ frequent losses drained him. Nothing is quite as rejuvenating as an ocean breeze, sunshine and a legitimate chance to win a ring. Garrett will pack up and leave Cleveland — his football home for the majority of the last decade, for better or worse — for a consistent, stable winner in Los Angeles.

The Browns also addressed their fanbase directly. “We met with Myles on Saturday and told him we are extremely grateful for all that he contributed to our team and to our community and that he will always be a Cleveland Brown. We look forward to welcoming him back at the appropriate time and wish him and his family only the best,” Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said.

“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. “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.”

Why The Rams Pulled The Trigger: All-In For 2026

The Rams, who are competing for a Super Bowl this season, just added a future Hall of Famer. They’ll be the first team since the 1970 merger to field the reigning Most Valuable Player on the offensive side of the ball and the Defensive Player of the Year on the other.

This offseason, they traded one of their first-round picks to the Chiefs for Trent McDuffie and signed the top cornerback to a four-year, $124 million extension. They also signed fellow corner Jaylen Watson to join his former Kansas City teammate in L.A.

The controversial move of selecting Ty Simpson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft likely helped L.A. make this trade. With their QB succession plan for the 38-year-old Stafford theoretically handled, they could afford to send first-round picks to Cleveland, believing they won’t need to use that ammo for a signal-caller down the road.

Even if Garrett isn’t reaching pay dirt, his mere presence should free up others along that talented front toward clearer paths to the quarterback. In fact, add Byron Young, Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske to the group of winners here, too. Everybody should expect to eat in Los Angeles in 2026, thanks to Garrett’s arrival.

What The Browns Get: The Rebuild Plan

Rapoport said: “What the Browns get is they save $30 million this year because the Rams pick up a salary. They also get QB ammo for years to come. The Browns, as of right now, do not seem to have a franchise quarterback. Once again, in the decorated draft of 2027, they have two first-rounders.”

The significant questions remain at quarterback, where Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders are expected to compete for the starting gig. If the franchise quarterback isn’t on the roster, moving on from Garrett now allows them to obtain picks that could help obtain one down the road.

The Browns spent the offseason revamping their offense, completely overhauling the offensive line and drafting receivers KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston.

Jared Verse: What Cleveland Is Getting Back

Verse is a talented player who was the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year. Verse was the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year and posted 7.5 sacks last season. Only Micah Parsons and Garrett have more pressures than Verse’s 99 since he entered the league, per ESPN Research.

As a Northeast Ohio native, former Los Angeles resident and current occupant of Cleveland, it’s going to be tough for Verse to trade the sunny skies of L.A. for the Forest City. And the adjustment will be about more than weather.

He will likely have to accept less in Cleveland — for now. If all goes according to plan, Verse might be in his prime just as the Browns are mounting their own title pursuit.

Verse arrived in Cleveland for his first OTA session with the Browns on Wednesday, following Monday’s blockbuster trade. After practice, head coach Todd Monken explained his excitement for having a leader on the defensive side of the ball.

During his time with the Los Angeles Rams, Jared Verse was labeled a vocal leader. That’s something the Cleveland Browns have been missing.

Jared Verse’s Career Profile

Historical Context: One Of The Biggest Defensive Trades In NFL History

The Browns received a first-round draft pick in 2027, a second-round pick in 2028 and a third-rounder in 2029 in what is one of the biggest trades in NFL history involving a defensive player.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the third time any player won NFL Defensive Player of the Year and then changed teams the next season.

For years, the Rams have swung for neighboring counties, as they’ve made just two first-round picks since the 2017 NFL Draft. Their willingness to repeatedly trade away future capital in pursuit of immediate Super Bowl contention remains unmatched in modern NFL history.

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