The Myles Garrett trade marked the second time in five years that L.A. Rams general manager Les Snead traded the farm for a Hall of Fame-level talent. Los Angeles has a chance to repeat history with Garrett, similar to their successful move for Matthew Stafford in 2021.
As we know, sequels are all the rage in Hollywood, and the Garrett and Stafford trades are eerily similar. For starters, both came from perpetually losing franchises that made the playoffs once in a blue moon.
During Stafford’s 12 seasons with the Lions, he suffered through four double-digit loss campaigns, while Garrett endured five, including the infamous 0-16 season in his rookie year in 2017. What a way to kick off your pro career in style.
Stafford opted to leave the Motor City after deciding that he didn’t want to play through another rebuild, given the team had gone through three straight double-digit loss seasons before joining the Rams. Meanwhile, Garrett was growing frustrated in Cleveland after the Browns had gone 8-26 since a surprise playoff run with Joe Flacco in 2023. The Browns are going through a never-ending rebuilding cycle highlighted by a nauseating QB carousel, a ride the reigning Defensive Player of the Year elected to get off of.
The two players wound up going to Rams teams that needed extra juice to get over the hump. In 2020, L.A. had the league’s best defense but fell short to the Packers in the Divisional Round. Last season, the Rams made the NFC Championship, yet fell to the juggernaut Seahawks, though the AFC was the weakest it had been in years.
Additionally, the trades for those two players were similar in terms of what was given up:
Stafford – 2021 third-rounder, first-rounders in 2022 and 2023, Jared Goff
Garrett – 2027 first-rounder, 2028 second-rounder, 2029 third-rounder, Jared Verse
Both trades involved significant draft capital and a player-for-player swap, players who made multiple Pro Bowls with the Rams. Goff was a two-time Pro Bowler during his time in Southern California, which included a Super Bowl appearance in 2018. Verse was similarly a two-time Pro Bowler and was the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year.
L.A. didn’t give up unknown players in either trade, as Goff, though on a decline, was a franchise quarterback, while Verse is viewed as an ascending defensive force. They represented foundational pieces the front office was willing to sacrifice for a transformational talent.
Hollywood has produced plenty of sequels that failed to capture the success of the original, and the Rams are betting this won’t be one of those duds. Just as Stafford guided a talented roster to Super Bowl glory, Garrett arrives in Los Angeles with a chance at his own blockbuster ending, perhaps with a return of an old cast member alongside him in Aaron Donald. Well, okay, let’s not get TOO ahead of ourselves.
