The Cincinnati Bengals are breathing a sigh of relief now that Myles Garrett is out of the division.
The former Cleveland Browns defensive end terrorized the Bengals twice a year for the past nine seasons. But he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in a blockbuster trade Monday. The two Bengals players who faced him the most—left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and right tackle Amarius Mims—were thrilled, but were clear-eyed that they were still going to face an incredible challenge with Jared Verse coming to the AFC North.
“I’m pretty sure anybody practicing today at the time we were practicing, no matter what it was, I assure you every team got a hold of that news,” Mims said Monday, via the Bengals’ official website. “It’s huge when you get a guy like Myles Garrett, a future Hall of Famer. It’s going to be a buzz. Congrats to those guys.”
The Los Angeles Rams traded their 2027 first-round pick, 2028 second-round pick, and 2029 third-round pick, along with edge rusher Jared Verse, to the Browns in exchange for the former first overall pick. For Garrett, being traded to the Rams is a chance to pursue a Super Bowl ring with a perennial contender that made it to the NFC Championship Game last season and invested heavily in the secondary. For the Browns, it is a welcome respite from the two-time Defensive Player of the Year and seven-time All-Pro and Pro Bowler, who racked up 16 of his 125.5 career sacks against the Bengals.
The Browns are losing their franchise cornerstone, but they are getting back an up-and-coming prospect who is already making waves as a pure disruptor. Verse was drafted by the Rams with the 19th overall pick in the 2024 Draft out of Florida State. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors for his 36 total tackles, 11 TFL, 4.5 sacks, two pass defenses, two fumbles, and two recoveries in his rookie season. He is also a 2-time Pro Bowler.
Nobody understands this harsh reality more than Brown, who was victimized three times by Garrett in 2025, including back-to-back sacks of Joe Burrow in the season opener, as well as the sack that broke the record in the final game of the season.
“It doesn’t matter. You still have to go win on Sundays. Congrats to Myles. That’s how I feel. We still have to go win,” Brown said. “[Verse] is a young player who is also a great player. Very talented. I have a lot of respect for his game.”
Mims was also candid about the difficulty of protecting the edges in the notoriously hard-nosed AFC North. Besides Verse and the Browns, the Bengals face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose edge room consists of: veteran T.J. Watt, a former Defensive Player of the Year and three-time NFL sack leader who co-held the sack record before Garrett broke it; Alex Highsmith, who finished last season with 9.5 sacks; and rotational edge rusher Nick Herbig, who finished last season with 7.5 sacks and reportedly signed a four-year, $100 million contract extension Tuesday. They also play the Baltimore Ravens, who signed former Bengal Trey Hendrickson in the offseason; Hendrickson had back-to-back seasons with 17.5 sacks in 2023 and 2024, and led the league in 2024.
“It’s the hardest division anywhere, whether it’s Myles Garrett or Jared Verse,” Mims said. “Both great players. Both have been to the Pro Bowl. Verse has been every year he’s been in the league. We came in together. A great player. You’ve got to block both of them at the end of the day.”
One player who was unequivocally relieved was Joe Flacco. Flacco was on the receiving end of Garrett’s abilities as quarterback of the Ravens, Denver Broncos, and New York Jets; as well as his teammate in two stints with the Browns in 2023 and 2025.
“Good for us,” Flacco said.
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