Inside the Myles Garrett Trade: Why the Browns Caved and Sent Their DPOY to the Rams
The Cleveland Browns spent two months telling the Los Angeles Rams they would not trade Myles Garrett. On June 1, they traded Myles Garrett.
The deal was a blockbuster. Garrett, the two-time Defensive Player of the Year, went to the Rams in exchange for two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2029 third-round pick. There is also a conditional kicker on the 2029 third that elevates to a first if Garrett ever gets traded to an AFC North team.
The Browns held out as long as they could. Multiple sources confirmed that Cleveland’s front office told the Rams directly that Garrett was not available. The Rams did not care. Per insiders, Los Angeles maintained what one source described as a “persistent pursuit” of Garrett, calling and calling until the Browns finally answered.
The Garrett trade came down to math the Browns could not justify ignoring. The team privately calculated the deal saves $30 million in cash over the next several years. Garrett’s cap hit for 2026 is now just $8.9 million, with that number climbing each year until it hits $48.2 million in 2030. Cleveland is not paying any of that anymore. The Rams are.
Garrett’s $40 million per year salary stayed intact on the new contract. He waived his no-trade clause specifically to facilitate the deal, and the same no-trade clause carries over to his Rams contract. He chose to go to Los Angeles. That is the part of the story Browns fans should hold on to.
For the Rams, this is a championship move. Sean McVay just landed one of the best defensive players of his generation, paired him with Aaron Donald’s old defensive coordinator infrastructure, and now has the best pass rush in football. Garrett next to Verse for one year before the trade gave Los Angeles a two-game stretch of dominance that already had front offices rewriting their offensive game plans. With Verse gone, Garrett is the headliner on a unit that should terrorize the NFC West.
For the Browns, the rebuild now has structure. Verse is 24 years old, two years younger than Garrett, and the kind of player you build a defense around for the next five years. Add three high draft picks and the $30 million in cash savings, and Cleveland walks away with a clear path forward.
The catch is the timing. Garrett wanted to win. The Browns have not won. Letting him go now, when the team is rebuilding around a quarterback question and a defensive overhaul, was the only move that made any sense.
There is also the AFC North wrinkle. The conditional 2029 third-rounder elevates to a first if Garrett gets traded to another AFC North team. That is a stipulation specifically designed to keep him out of the Steelers, Bengals, and Ravens organizations. Cleveland knows the Rams could try to flip him later if his contract becomes a problem, and the front office wanted insurance that the worst-case scenario costs LA real assets.
The Rams almost certainly do not move Garrett before his contract is over. He is the centerpiece of the new defense. But the protection is smart, and it sends a signal to the rest of the league that Cleveland is still thinking about the long game.
The bigger picture is what the trade says about modern NFL roster building. The Rams paid massive draft capital and a starter to acquire a player who was not officially available. The Browns made a smart financial play that hurts in the short term and helps in the long term. Both teams probably won.
Garrett gets to chase a championship in Los Angeles. The Browns get to build. The Rams get the best pass rusher in football. Everyone walks away saying the right things, and the AFC North just got slightly easier for everybody not named Cleveland.
That is the cost of admitting the truth.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
