When the Cleveland Browns traded Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams for linebacker Jared Verse and three future draft picks, it sent shockwaves through the building—especially for defensive end Alex Wright. Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry said the mo
Cleveland’s offseason didn’t just shift—it snapped into a new reality on a single trade headline.
The Browns moved on from defensive end Myles Garrett, sending him to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for linebacker Jared Verse and three future draft picks. It caught plenty of people off guard, largely because Garrett had long been the face of the franchise.
General manager Andrew Berry acknowledged the surprise but framed the decision as a necessary change. In a media conference on Tuesday. Berry said the Rams’ offer looked “really beneficial” to Cleveland. and that it convinced him to pull the trigger. He also pointed to a history that made the split feel less sudden than it looked on the surface: Garrett had already demanded a trade in 2025.
For defensive end Alex Wright, the trade was another kind of jolt entirely—less about strategy, more about disbelief. In a video posted by Adam Schefter, Wright recalled the moment he realized the Garrett news wasn’t a hoax.
“Someone told me to go on Twitter. I thought it was like a fake trade or something like that. I remember I got a text and I got the ESPN notification, and then when I saw Adam Schefter, I was like, ‘Yeah, let me go get a drink very quick,’” Wright said.
He described how quickly the story took over his phone, with calls coming in—though he still needed to verify it for himself.
“I turned on the TV, it’s on YouTube, it’s on Twitter, it’s on Facebook, it’s on Instagram. When I went on my Instagram, it was straight down the timeline. I was like, ‘This can’t be real.’ I was in denial for a few hours. But yeah, I was just on the back patio with dogs, just chilling, stuff like that. I just talked to my mom a little bit. I was really shocked,” Wright added.
The shock of that moment matters because the opportunity that follows is immediate. With Garrett gone, the 25-year-old Wright is expected to carry more weight in Cleveland. The Browns will feel the loss of the 30-year-old star, a seven-time All-Pro and a two-time Defensive Player of the Year.
But Wright is coming off production that already earned him momentum. During his breakout season, he posted career-highs with 37 total tackles, 21 solo tackles, and 12 tackles for loss.
Between Garrett’s departure and Wright’s rise, the Browns have entered a stretch where one era ended quickly—and the next one will be measured just as fast.
Cleveland Browns Myles Garrett Los Angeles Rams Jared Verse Alex Wright Andrew Berry trade NFL Defensive Player of the Year Adam Schefter
I swear every time I hear Browns offseason it’s just chaos and memes.
So they traded Garrett and now Alex Wright is supposed to carry the team… ok but like can he actually replace a whole face of the franchise? Seems risky, idk. Also Jared Verse sounds like a backup name lol
Wait, I thought Myles Garrett was already on the Rams like two years ago? Maybe I’m mixing him up with some other DE. But if Wright was in denial for hours, that’s wild… makes me think the Browns just do stuff without telling the players until the internet finds out.
This is why I don’t trust “media conference” talk. They say it was ‘really beneficial’ and ‘convincing’ but Garrett was literally the best thing they had. Meanwhile Wright’s out there chilling with dogs (lol) like the rest of us weren’t watching the trade headline blow up everywhere. Three future draft picks doesn’t mean anything if they still can’t stop anyone now. Cleveland just swapped stars and called it a plan.