Browns trade Myles Garrett to Rams: Seven big questions

LOS ANGELES — The Rams and Cleveland Browns are finalizing a trade that will send defensive end Myles Garrett to Los Angeles in exchange for outside linebacker Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round draft pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick, sources told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero and ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.

Garrett, a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, is coming off a 23-sack season, the most by any player in a season since 1982 when individual sacks became official. Verse, the 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, has been named to the Pro Bowl in his first two NFL seasons.

Garrett joins a Rams defense that finished the 2025 season with the eighth-highest pass rush win rate in the league, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Now, Los Angeles adds Garrett, who has the third-highest PRWR (25.8%) as an edge defender since entering the NFL as the No. 1 overall pick out of Texas A&M in 2017.

Once Garrett plays a down for the Rams, it will mark the third time any player won NFL Defensive Player of the Year and then played the next season with a different team, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

As of Monday afternoon, the Rams’ odds at DraftKings Sportsbook to win the Super Bowl jumped from +800 to +600. Los Angeles is also the favorite to win the NFC (+300) and the NFC West (+100).

For more on how this blockbuster trade impacts the Browns and Rams, ESPN NFL Nation reporters Sarah Barshop and Daniel Oyefusi answer top questions facing each team, national NFL reporters Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler break down both salary caps, NFL analyst Ben Solak digs into the scheme fits for both players, NFL draft analyst Matt Miller offers insights for the 2027 class and NFL analyst Seth Walder grades the trade.

Myles Garrett asked for a trade last year. What changed things this time?

Though the Browns were able to smooth over Garrett’s trade request last February and get him to agree to a then-record four-year, $160 million extension, an air of uncertainty always lingered over the relationship. Garrett went on to have the best season of his eight-year pro career, but he lamented Cleveland’s struggles as the Browns endured their seventh losing season in nine years since Garrett entered the NFL in 2017.

Garrett always said his commitment to the Browns was contingent on the franchise being committed to winning. The team’s decision to pass on former defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, whom he publicly vouched for, and hire Todd Monken for its head coach opening seemed to frustrate Garrett; he posted a meme to his Instagram account after a falling out with Schwartz, who later resigned from his position, that expressed exasperation.

Browns GM Andrew Berry wouldn’t confirm the reported trade of Myles Garrett but said Cleveland’s hoping to finalize a deal in the coming hours pic.twitter.com/oh0Pg8CoDg

— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) June 1, 2026

Eyebrows were raised even more after the Browns and Garrett agreed to a change in his contract in March, pushing back the option bonus dates from early in free agency to a week before the start of the 2026 regular season. General manager Andrew Berry said the move was not a precursor to a trade and he called Garrett a “career Brown,” but he also added he would always do what’s best for the team.

Now armed with an extra first-round pick and a younger, blue-chip pass rusher, Berry decided doing what’s best for the Browns was a more desirable outcome than keeping a future Hall of Famer in Garrett in Cleveland. — Oyefusi

After just drafting QB Ty Simpson 13th overall, how all-in are the Rams in 2026?

It was actually the move to draft Simpson at No. 13 that gave the Rams the flexibility to trade for Garrett. One of the considerations after drafting the quarterback out of Alabama, a source said at the time in late April, was the ability it gave the Rams to use their 2027 first-round pick on a non-quarterback. While that could have looked like using a draft pick at the NFL trade deadline, it also meant the Rams had the pick available to use in this deal here on June 1.

Now, after trading for the 2025 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, it’s hard to look at the Rams’ roster and see many weaknesses. Along with the trade for Garrett on June 1, the Rams also revamped their secondary this spring by trading for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie and signing cornerback Jaylen Watson.

In his end-of-season news conference, Rams general manager Les Snead said if quarterback Matthew Stafford returned for Year 18, Los Angeles would want to make sure they are doing all they can to maximize the remaining time he wants to play. It’s clear with the moves the Rams have made this offseason that Snead and Los Angeles view the last few years of Stafford’s career as a time to go all-in. — Barshop

How does Garrett fit into the Rams defense, and how good could that unit be?

Garrett fits in the Rams’ defense the way Superman fits into the Justice League … he’s Superman. There aren’t many schematic considerations or team chemistry concerns. You just tell him to turn on the heat vision and go to work.

Current Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula has been on the team since Sean McVay took the head coaching job in 2017. That means he was in the building when various coordinators (Wade Phillips, Brandon Staley) built their defensive approach around a star defensive lineman. Of course, Aaron Donald played on the interior, whereas Garrett will be coming off the edge. But Garrett is one of a few players with equal gravity to Donald, and Shula’s third-down rush packages will be built on the idea that Garrett demands more additional protection help than any other player in football. (Garrett is the most chipped/doubled edge rusher in the league over the past two seasons).

The Rams heavily relied on stunts and twists last season, which played to the strengths of Byron Young and the outgoing Verse. With Garrett in hand, they’ll still use those tools, but they’ll need them less frequently.

The Rams have the total defensive talent necessary to be the best unit in football. Beyond the newly acquired stars of Garrett and McDuffie are excellent role and depth players in defensive tackles Kobie Turner and Poona Ford, safeties Kam Curl and Quentin Lake, and linebacker Nate Landman. Shula has a greater variety of calls and structures available to him now, and they were the fourth defense by DVOA last season.

This is a powerhouse unit that can finish the job of a Super Bowl run. — Solak

No player is a replacement for Garrett, but how good is Jared Verse, the 25-year-old edge rusher headed to Cleveland?

Verse has been considered one of the league’s budding defensive stars since he broke out with a 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year campaign. He’s 14th among edge rushers in overall pressure rate since entering the league, and critically, he never comes off the field.

Verse’s 936 pass rushes over the past two seasons are fourth most among edge defenders. Verse isn’t just a high-volume player who creates pressures but also a fast winner. With a good first step and a devastating bull rush, Verse has a time to pressure of 2.87 seconds (by NFL Next Gen Stats numbers), just 0.05 seconds behind Garrett on a similar volume of snaps.

While Verse’s pressure rates indicate he’s a rising young star, his sack numbers have lagged behind. Because much of Verse’s production is through his bull rush, he often arrives to the quarterback unbalanced and still engaged with a tackle. It’s challenging for him to finish rushes the way Garrett — en route to a league-record 23 sacks — did in 2025. Verse has a pressure-to-sack ratio of 8.4% in his career, which is the fourth lowest among all edge rushers across the past two seasons. Garrett, for comparison, is at 23.0%. — Solak

What are the salary-cap implications of this deal for both the Browns and Rams?

Garrett’s contract calls for a $1.3 million base salary in 2026, plus a $29.2 million option bonus, a $1 million workout bonus and another $1 million in per-game roster bonuses ($58,824). All of that money is guaranteed … but it’s not all Cleveland’s problem anymore. Because the Browns adjusted the deal this offseason to move the option deadline back to seven days before the first regular-season game, the Browns haven’t yet paid that $29.2 million. It’s possible (and per sources, likely) that the contract will be adjusted as a condition of the trade, but we will work off the pre-existing numbers for now.

Barring any adjustments to the contract, the Browns will take a total of $41,090,585 in dead-money cap charges for Garrett as a result of remaining signing bonus and option bonus proration from previous deals and restructures. Assuming this deal is officially processed after 4 p.m. ET on Monday and is thus a post-June 1 trade, the Browns can take $15,534,120 of that in dead-money charges on their 2026 cap and the remaining $25,556,465 million in dead money in 2027. The Browns will also have to pay Verse a fully guaranteed $2,170,850 this year and a fully guaranteed $2,858,575 next year. Those will be the Browns’ cap charges for Verse in those years, and the team holds a fifth-year option on him for 2028 since he’s a 2024 first-round pick.

The Rams (again, barring any contract adjustments) inherit that $1.3 million salary, the $29.2 million option bonus and the $1 million in per-game roster bonuses. So they’ll have to pay Garrett at least $31.5 million cash in 2026. The $1 million workout bonus is a question mark, since he hasn’t been at Browns offseason workouts, but it could be a point of negotiation with Garrett, the Rams and the Browns as a condition of the trade. For purposes of this analysis, we’re assuming it doesn’t have to be paid and the Rams will pay him $31.5 million this year. I know I said “fully guaranteed,” but that bonus is only guaranteed against the team releasing him. He still has to show up for offseason workouts to get it, and the same goes with the per-game roster bonuses.

Since option bonuses can be spread out for up to five years for cap accounting purposes, Garrett will cost the Rams $8.14 million against their 2026 cap. In 2027 — when he has a $1.345 million salary, a $39,353,875 option bonus, a $1 million workout bonus and another $1 million in per-game roster bonuses — his cap charge projects to be $17,056,775. All of his 2027 money is guaranteed at this point, and $22,796,125 of his 2028 compensation will become fully guaranteed if he’s still on the Rams’ roster on the fifth day of the 2027 league year next March.

The Rams will take a total of $3,913,398 in dead-money charges against their cap as a result of trading Verse. But assuming it’s a post-June 1 trade, the Rams could (if they choose) split that dead money in half and take half on this year’s cap and the other half next year. — Graziano

What other teams were involved in trade talks for Garrett, and what are we hearing about how this played out?

My early sense is the trade was very Rams-specific, meaning no other teams were involved in talks. The Browns coveted Verse, a young, elite pass rusher. That limited the pool of candidates greatly, and as one team source said, the Rams were “hounding” Cleveland about the deal for a while. Adding Verse to the package was a late development. I was told that Garrett never made a trade request. And I was told a hard no on Denzel Ward’s availability, for example. Perhaps he wanted a change of scenery, but relocating Garrett for the player’s sake was not a part of this. — Fowler

What do the Browns need in the 2027 draft?

Back-to-back draft classes with a large number of picks (16 total selections) and a good number of hits from the 2025 rookies has the Browns’ roster in the best shape in recent memory. But one massive hole exists at quarterback, and that’s where Cleveland must focus its resources early in a 2027 draft that’s deep at the position.

Arch Manning (Texas) and Dante Moore (Oregon) figure to be the top two passers in the class. It will take a top-three selection to land one of them, but the Browns now have the added draft capital needed to move up in Round 1 if needed. — Miller

How would you grade the trade for both sides?

Browns: A

Rams: C-

The Super Bowl-favorite Rams just dealt for the reigning Defensive Player of the Year coming off a season in which he broke the single-season sack record … and yet it should be Browns fans celebrating this trade. It’s a mighty acquisition for Los Angeles, but it’s a massive return for Cleveland — more than should have reasonably been expected, even for Garrett.

Garrett has been a first-team All-Pro in five of the past six seasons, recorded at least 12.0 sacks in each of the past six seasons, won Defensive Player of the Year two out of the past three seasons and ranks second to only Micah Parsons in both pass rush win rate and pass rush wins over the past four years. But critical to this trade grade is the evaluation of Verse, who might go overlooked in this deal but absolutely should not. He has 12.0 sacks and a 15.3% pass rush win rate at edge (62nd percentile) over his two seasons in the league. That pass rushing undersells his impact, though, because Verse is one of the best run-stopping edges in the league; he ranks second in run stop win rate at edge behind only Maxx Crosby in that span.

The Browns are not contenders in 2026 and are probably a stretch to contend even in 2027. It makes sense for Cleveland to take this deal. But I do not think this is good team building for the Rams that will maximize their chances of a Super Bowl over the next several seasons. There is a clear drop-off from Garrett to Verse, but it’s not like Los Angeles is filling a hole here. Add in the massive pay disparity between the two players — even if both are values relative to their worth — and it makes it even harder to justify.

The 2026 Rams are better today than they were yesterday. But the cost to the 2027-2030 Rams is too much to justify, and the Browns will reap the benefits. — Walder