Final details – After weeks of denying Myles Garrett was available, the Cleveland Browns shipped the All-Pro edge rusher to the Los Angeles Rams. The final terms hinge on Jared Verse being pulled into the package, flipping the Browns’ stance and reshaping future draft math fo
For weeks, the Cleveland Browns insisted Myles Garrett wasn’t on the trade market. Then, without warning, they sent the All-Pro defensive end to the Los Angeles Rams in a blockbuster deal that caught the league off guard.
The shock wasn’t just the move—it was the final shape of it. Initial reports had suggested the Browns would receive 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse along with draft pick compensation. Once everything settled, the full terms were revealed.
The Rams are getting Garrett. including his resume stacked with honors: a seven-time Pro Bowler. a five-time first-team All-Pro. a two-time second-team All-Pro. and a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. For Cleveland. the return is Verse plus draft capital: a first-round pick in 2027. a second-round pick in 2028. and a third-round pick in 2029.
The trade includes a specific draft-history consequence that matters in a league built on timing. By dealing away their 2027 first-rounder, the Rams will have gone without a Round 1 pick in nine of the last 12 drafts.
They’ve had only a handful of first-round selections since 2016: quarterback Jared Goff in 2016. who later was traded to the Detroit Lions for Matthew Stafford in 2020; Verse in 2024. now headed to Cleveland; and Ty Simpson. who was taken 13th overall this year. Everything else, for Los Angeles, has come without a first-round table stake.
At the center of the turnaround was a single pivot involving Verse. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the final terms. ESPN/NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport explained how the deal shifted after Verse was included.
“When Jared Verse was suddenly in the deal. the picks got moved around a little bit. it got to a point where the two teams said. ‘You know what. this could actually happen. ’” Rapoport stated. “… Myles Garrett expected to be a member of the Los Angeles Rams — the one and only team to pursue him. Persistence pays off for Les Snead, for Sean McVay and company. Just an unbelievable day.”.
Verse. even if he isn’t yet Garrett’s caliber. arrives with enough production to make Cleveland’s decision feel less like a leap and more like a straight-line plan. The 25-year-old edge rusher was tied for the second-most pressures (100) among edge-rushers in the NFL last season. trailing only Will Anderson Jr. of the Houston Texans (102).
He led all edge-rushers in QB hits (27) and finished third in hurries (64). His numbers also included 7.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and a 16.1 pass-rush win-rate, per Pro Football Focus.
The sequence is stark: Garrett’s availability was denied for weeks, and then the deal happened quickly once Verse entered the package—and with it, the draft positions were rearranged enough for both sides to agree.
Now the Rams get a proven difference-maker to anchor their pass rush, trading away future certainty in the opening rounds. Cleveland. meanwhile. leaves with Verse and a multi-year haul of first-. second-. and third-round picks—an exchange designed to soften the cost of moving on from an All-Pro cornerstone.
Myles Garrett Jared Verse Cleveland Browns Los Angeles Rams NFL trade 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year draft picks 2027 2028 second-round 2029 third-round