The Los Angeles Rams have acquired two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Browns, according to multiple reports.
A five-time first-team All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler, Garrett heads to the Rams in exchange for fellow defensive end Jared Verse and a 2027 first-round pick along with additional compensation.
The first overall pick in the 2017 draft, Garrett has established himself as one of the finest defensive players in NFL history despite playing for a Browns team that has rarely contended for the playoffs.
Garrett has 125.5 sacks in his career, putting him tied for 20th with Hall of Famer Dwight Freeney on the official all-time list. Sacks only became an official stat in 1982. Last year, he broke the all-time record for sacks in a single season when he racked up 23, beating the mark of 22.5 first set by Michael Strahan in 2001 and then tied by T.J. Watt in 2021.
Despite his dominance, the Browns have had just two playoff seasons and one playoff win in his time with the team.
Garrett requested a trade last offseason, saying in a statement that “The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton [home of the Hall of Fame], it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl.”
The 31-year-old eventually went back on that request and signed a four-year, $160 million extension with the Browns, with that contract running through the 2030 season.
But, after a 5-12 season in 2025, talk of a trade resurfaced, and a switch has now come to pass, with Garrett joining a legitimate contender as the Rams look to maximise their chances of winning the Lombardi Trophy in what is likely to be quarterback Matthew Stafford’s final year with the team.
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Rams go all-in on 2026
Thirty-eight year-old Stafford signed a one-year, $55m extension last month to keep him around for another season following a draft in which the Rams selected his heir apparent Ty Simpson in the first round.
Stafford won the MVP for the first time in his career last season, but the Rams lost 31-27 to the Seattle Seahawks in a thrilling NFC Championship Game.
The Seahawks went on to win the Super Bowl behind a dominant defense. Competing in the NFC West, which sent three teams to the playoffs last season as the San Francisco 49ers reached the Divisional Round, the Rams will hope the inclusion of Garrett will take their defense to a level that allows them to become the primary force in the division and the conference.
Garrett will make his regular-season debut for the Rams when they face the 49ers in Melbourne, Australia on September 10.
While the Rams are thinking championship, the Browns are thinking long-term.
Browns get assets in elite draft
A franchise seemingly perpetually in rebuild mode, the deal allows the Browns to get out of a financially expensive contract and collect assets to allow them to build for the future.
In Verse, they get a two-time Pro Bowler and former Defensive Player of the Year who, at 25, still has his best football ahead of him.
But of more importance is the extra first-round pick in 2027.
After draft classes in 2025 and 2026 that were viewed as mediocre, the incoming crop of college prospects for 2027 is regarded as one of the best in years.
With Deshaun Watson seemingly set to get another chance to start this season ahead of Shedeur Sanders, the Browns remain in a hugely unenviable position at quarterback. With the likes of Arch Manning and Dante Moore in the 2027 draft, the Browns — depending on their 2026 record — now have the resources to potentially address a deficiency that has long since held them back.
For Cleveland, trading Garrett is the smart long-term play, the frustration for Browns fans is that they have largely wasted the prime years of a Hall of Fame talent, and will now likely have to watch him thrive in Los Angeles as they likely contemplate another campaign in which the focus will seemingly be on building for next year.
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