On June 1, 2026, the Cleveland Browns sent two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick.
Cleveland is trading a finished, proven, generational, priceless pass rusher for a 25-year-old edge and three draft picks. For the generational pass rusher Cleveland just sent away, there is no “winning” this deal directly. Even if Verse turns into a consistent double digit sack guy over the next 7 years, this deal never will be in Cleveland’s favor. With this being said, it still benefits Cleveland to the best of their ability considering all context around their current roster situation, and that’s the win they were looking for. For the Rams, it is now Super Bowl or bust, which is also the win they were looking for. Let’s dive in further.
Garrett finished the 2025 season with 23.0 sacks, the most by any player in a single season since sacks became an official stat in 1982, passing Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt, who each had 22.5. That same season earned him his second Defensive Player of the Year award, with the first coming in 2023. He is a five-time first-team All-Pro and carries 125.5 career sacks to the Rams, every one of them in a Browns uniform.
Garrett posted 14.0 sacks in 2023, 14.0 again in 2024, then the record 23.0 in 2025. Garrett also piled up 33 tackles for loss in 2025, the second-highest single-season total in modern league history. This is the part that is not in doubt. The Rams know exactly what they bought.
Here is what Cleveland is actually banking on. Jared Verse, the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year, has 12.0 career sacks through two seasons: 4.5 as a rookie in 2024 and 7.5 in 2025. He is 25 years old and has made the Pro Bowl in both of his NFL seasons. He is good, young, and cheap relative to Garrett’s contract. None of that is the question.
The question is the slope of that line. Verse went from 4.5 to 7.5 sacks year over year. If that climb continues and he settles in as a 10+ sack producer for the bulk of his time in Cleveland, the Browns gave up a record-setter but received a long-term cornerstone plus three premium picks, and the deal makes more sense for Cleveland when we look back. If Verse plateaus only as a ‘useful’ player, then Cleveland traded the best defender of his generation for a complementary piece and draft capital.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry made clear that Verse was the hinge of the entire deal. Berry said the inclusion of Verse was “chief among the considerations” and called him “a young, elite player at a premium position who will only continue to improve in his third NFL season,” in the team’s official statement.
The standard knock on trading for a 30-year-old edge is the age curve. Garrett is 30, born December 29, 1995. Pass rushers historically decline through their early-to-mid 30s, which is the case for Cleveland cashing out now and the case against the Rams paying a Herschel Walker level price.
The counterargument is that Garrett is not a typical 30-year-old. He just set the single-season sack record at age 29 going into 30, and there is no debate circulating that his ability is waning leading into his Rams days. The Rams are not buying a five-year prime; they are buying a two-to-three-year championship window with arguably the best player in football. For a roster built to win now, that is easily defensible no matter the price. The reaction around the league treated the move exactly as that: a contender swinging for a Super Bowl victory in the short term.
The draft capital is the part that keeps Cleveland from “losing” outright even in the worst case scenario. The Browns added a 2027 first, a 2028 second and a 2029 third, on top of Verse. A 2027 first-round pick alone is a swing at a decade-long starter; stacked with a second and a third, it is real, compounding value for a Browns roster that is in a rebuilding timeline anyway.
The pivot point is Verse, exactly as Berry framed it. For a team now armed with 11 picks in 2027, they are locked-and-loaded for long-term success. If Shedeur Sanders or Deshaun Watson proves to be a competent QB, they hit a home-run.
The Rams got the surest thing in the deal: a proven, record-setting, in-his-prime-enough pass rusher for a roster trying to win immediately. The Browns got optionality: a young, cost-controlled edge and three picks that could either compound into a better long-term return or fizzle. Both teams get what they want from this deal, but this only sways Cleveland’s way if Verse becomes a consistent 10+ sack contributor over the course of his Cleveland tenure. Otherwise, it comes down to the picks they received in return, and it’s easy to assume no one pick will match up to the generational ability of Myles Garrett. The elite potential is there for Verse. Although, if it ever becomes evident that he already peaked in production, the Browns lost the trade, full stop, and the picks become consolation only.
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