Everyone in the NFL world was expected a trade to come together quickly after the NFL's important accounting date of June 1 officially passed.
Yes, most were anticipating the Philadelphia Eagles would trade veteran wide receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots to reunite him with his former coach, Mike Vrabel.
Almost nobody expected that an even bigger blockbuster would occur before that eventual move.
On June 1, the Cleveland Browns agreed to trade star edge rusher Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams. For their troubles, they received a younger edge rusher, Jared Verse, and three premium draft picks.
Garrett was coming off a season during which he broke the NFL's single-season sack record after notching 23 across 17 games with the Browns.
His performance helped him earn his second Defensive Player of the Year award in three seasons.
The deal also set Garrett up to play for a win-now Rams team that has aspirations of winning Super Bowl 61. He will get a chance to play alongside eight-time first-team All-Pro Aaron Donald – who unretired prior to the 2026 season thanks, in part, to the team's acquisition of Garrett – on an incredibly deep Los Angeles defensive line.
How did the Garrett trade come together? Here are the full details of the trade and some insight into Cleveland's decision to move on from their face of the franchise.
Myles Garrett trade details
Rams received:
- Myles Garrett
Browns received:
- Jared Verse
- 2027 first-round pick
- 2028 second-round pick
- 2029 third-round pick
Why Browns decided to trade Myles Garrett
Browns general manager Andrew Berry explained why the team decided to trade Garrett to the Rams shortly after the trade occurred.
"We have long taken the stance that our goal was for Myles Garrett to be a one-helmet player for his entire career," Berry said. "After rewriting the record books and representing our organization with excellence, we were sincere in that desire as we entered this offseason and did not envision a world where Myles was not a Cleveland Brown.
"When the Rams first approached us with the possibility of trading Myles, we remained convicted in our position, but as discussions intensified we were stuck at a legitimate crossroads: do we hold on to a truly generational player who has become the identity of our team, or do we make the difficult decision that we think is best for the organization over the long run?
"In that framework, the decision became clear, although our emotions were muddled. We, and more importantly, our fans, have grown up with Myles, and he's an enormous source of pride for our team. However, as we embark on a new era of Browns football with a young core and a replenished asset base, we felt this move was important to our transition.
"Chief among the considerations to make the decision was the inclusion of Jared Verse – a player our fan base will love. At 25 years old with two Pro Bowls and a Defensive Rookie of the Year award under his belt, we receive a young, elite player at a premium position who will only continue to improve in his third NFL season. Jared’s passion and relentless style of play will be embraced by our fans. He will fit right in with the established identity of our defense. We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome him to the Dawg Pound!
"We recognize the unexpected nature of this trade, but it opens up great opportunities for our franchise. We are excited to welcome Jared into the organization, along with the cap flexibility and draft pick resources to deploy to the rest of the roster that will allow us to add to our budding core on both sides of the ball."
Rams tell their side of the Myles Garrett trade
The Rams held a news conference introducing Garrett as part of their team on June 3, two days after the deal was initially reported.
Coach Sean McVay referred to adding Garrett as a "rare opportunity" while general manager Les Snead explained that chasing Garrett fit into Los Angeles' offseason-long goal of adding talent to its defense.
Snead also sniffed out the opportunity to chase Garrett after noticing a key change Cleveland had made to the star pass rusher's then-record-breaking four-year, $160 million contract.
"When Cleveland made the adjustment to his contract, not sure if it was a signal, they made an adjustment," Snead explained. "I’ve got a good relationship with Andrew Berry, thought I’d just check in. Let’s check in. Obviously, Myles and his standing – he's a Cleveland Brown, he’s on their Mount Rushmore, so they were a no."
"But Andrew and I have a good relationship, we like talking about football a good bit, so I would pester him a little bit, probably jokingly at first," Snead added. "Kept doing that. And then we began talking a little more seriously about it."
Initially, those serious talks were focused on compensation related to the 2026 NFL Draft. But eventually, the two sides moved onto the eventual framework of the deal, which Snead acknowledged was a bit difficult despite Garrett's greatness.
"At the end of the day, and where it got a little tough for us, is they asked for Jared Verse in return," Snead said. "And similar to what Cleveland did at first, we were a no, based on all that Jared’s done for our organization. So, during May, we kept trying, we tried to work things out, tried to figure out a solution."
"But as the June 1 date came, as it was getting closer – probably some time late May there into that weekend – we had a decision to make," he added. "We knew where Cleveland [was] standing, they knew where we stood, and then we proceeded to make the trade."
Snead also acknowledged later in the news conference there was another element he had to broach with Berry before they got too deep into trade discussions.
"Myles had a no-trade clause," Snead said. "I remember asking Andrew after about a month of talking, 'Hey, I know Myles has a no-trade clause, are we going to have gone through all this and he’s going to say no?'"
But ultimately, Garrett approved, positioning himself to take aim at Super Bowl 61 as part of a loaded, Rams super team.
How many sacks does Myles Garrett have?
Garrett is entering the 2026 NFL season with 125.5 regular-season sacks to his name. That's tied for 28th-most in NFL history with Dwight Freeney, and 74.5 sacks away from tying the all-time record belonging to Bruce Smith (200).
Myles Garrett career stats
Garrett has been named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year twice in his career while also earning five All-Pro first-team nods and seven Pro Bowl selections.
Below is a look at his full career stats:
- Games: 134
- Tackles: 412
- TFL: 149
- Sacks: 125.5
- Forced fumbles: 23
- Fumble recoveries: 6
- Passes defensed: 18
- Total defensive TDs: 1
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blockbuster Myles Garrett trade defined NFL offseason and future of two teams
