Three months after the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns pulled off the most stunning trade of the 2026 offseason, both sides are still waiting for a return on their investment.
Myles Garrett's Los Angeles debut was about as bad as it gets. In the Rams' 27-7 Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Garrett finished without a single tackle, sack, quarterback hit or forced fumble. It was only the fourth time in his career he's been blanked across the board, and Pro Football Focus credited him with a single pressure, just a hurry. Garrett admitted afterward it was "the worst version" of himself he's put on tape, still hampered by the knee issue that cost him camp and the preseason.
Then came the real gut punch: Garrett underwent arthroscopic knee
surgery days later and landed on injured reserve, with the Rams targeting a return as early as Week 6. That sidelines the reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year for a stretch that includes the Giants, Broncos, Eagles and Bills.
Cleveland isn't finding vindication either. Although the Browns added a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2029 third-round pick, their immediate return on investment for former Rams first-round pick Jared Verse is poor.
Through two games, Verse has logged 46 pass-rush snaps for just two pressures — a 4.3% pressure rate — and zero sacks, all career lows for the two-time Pro Bowler, per Sumner Sports. The explosive, disruptive edge presence that made him a Defensive Rookie of the Year is nowhere to be found early in Cleveland.
So three-plus months later, the trade that sent shockwaves through the league hasn't produced a winner. The Browns collected an asset haul but a Verse who isn't rushing the passer effectively. The Rams landed a superstar who's now on IR before he could make a real impact.
Both teams are banking on health and form turning around; for now, the only thing certain about the Garrett-Verse swap is that neither team has cashed in yet.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Neither the Rams nor the Browns have won the Myles Garrett trade yet
