Blockbuster Trade Sends 2-Time DPOY Myles Garrett to Rams

The Los Angeles Rams have acquired defensive end Myles Garrett in a blockbuster trade.

The Rams traded their 2027 first-round pick, 2028 second-round pick, and 2029 third-round pick, along with edge rusher Jared Verse, to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for the former first overall pick. The trade is yet another upgrade for a Rams defense that already made two big splashes on the back end, trading for cornerback Trent McDuffie and signing Jaylen Watson in free agency.

Garrett posted a farewell message to Cleveland on Instagram.

“To Cleveland, Northeast Ohio, and every Browns fan, [n]ine years,” he wrote.

“It’s hard to put into words what that really means when so much of your life has been shaped in one place, around one team, and with one community behind you.

“From my very first play, you embraced me, and I wanted to help bring winning back to a city whose loyalty, resilience, and belief never wavered. What I didn’t fully understand then was how much this city would shape me.”

Garrett was drafted by the Browns out of Texas A&M with the first overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He appeared in just 11 games as a rookie due to injury, but he racked up 31 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, seven sacks, a pass defense, a forced fumble, and a recovery. He was named to the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie team.

Since then, Garrett has established himself as one of the league’s most dominant pass rushers. He has had double-digit sack totals in every season since 2018, including back-to-back seasons with 16 sacks in 2021 and 2022, and with 14 in 2023 and 2024. He set the NFL’s single-season sack record with 23 sacks in 2025. He also led the league in tackles for loss in both 2024 (22) and 2025 (33).

That consistency has been rewarded with dozens of accolades. Garrett was named to his first Pro Bowl in 2018 and has been selected every season since 2020. He was a Second-Team All-Pro in 2018 and 2022 and has won First-Team honors in 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025. And he is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, in 2023 and 2025.

“Cleveland made me tougher,” he wrote. “It taught me what it means to fight through adversity, to stand tall when things get hard, and to keep believing even when the odds are stacked against you. You showed me what real passion looks like—through the tailgates, the Dawg Pound roars, the snow games, and the unbreakable bond we built together.”

Despite the individual accolades, the Browns as a team continued to struggle mightily. They made the playoffs just twice in his career: in 2020, they upset the AFC North Champion Pittsburgh Steelers 48-37, but then lost to the eventual AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs, 22-17; in 2023, the Browns earned the fifth seed thanks to a Cinderella run late in the regular season, but were throttled by the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round, 45-14.

“I wish I could’ve done more,” Garrett wrote. “I wish I could’ve brought you that championship. But know that I gave everything I had to this team, this city, and this fanbase. Every sack, every practice, every moment—I played for you. Loving you is easy, leaving you is the hard part. Thank you for nine unforgettable years.”

Garrett joins a Rams defense that has already invested heavily in the secondary. They gave up their 2026 first-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs, along with their fifth and sixth rounders and a 2027 third-rounder for cornerback Trent McDuffie. They followed it up by signing McDuffie’s opposite number, Jaylen Watson, in free agency.

Garrett joins a defensive line that already includes edge rusher Byron Young—who had 12 sacks himself last season—veteran defensive tackle Poona Ford, and 2024 second-round pick Braden Fiske.

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.

Verse posted an Instagram story saying farewell to Los Angeles.