LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns are finalizing a trade that will send defensive end Myles Garrett to the Rams in exchange for outside linebacker Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero and ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Garrett, a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, is coming off a 23-sack season — the most by any player in a season since individual sacks became official in 1982, ESPN reported. Since entering the league as the No. 1 overall pick out of Texas A&M in 2017, Garrett has compiled the third-highest pass rush win rate (25.8%) among edge defenders, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. The Elias Sports Bureau noted that once Garrett plays a down for the Rams it will mark only the third time a Defensive Player of the Year has played the following season with a different team.
Jared Verse, the 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first two NFL seasons, according to ESPN. The Browns, facing internal friction after Garrett’s earlier trade request and a contract revision that moved option bonus dates to a week before the 2026 regular season, opted to receive draft capital and a younger pass rusher, ESPN NFL Nation’s Daniel Oyefusi reported. General manager Andrew Berry had called Garrett a “career Brown” but said he would do what is best for the team, per ESPN.
The move also reflects how the Rams constructed flexibility this offseason. Los Angeles’ decision to draft quarterback Ty Simpson with the No. 13 overall pick in April left the club able to use its 2027 first-round selection on a non-quarterback, a source said at the time, and that pick was available to be included in the June 1 deal. The Rams’ defense finished the 2025 season with the eighth-highest pass rush win rate in the league, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
The trade moved Las Vegas betting lines as well: DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Rams’ Super Bowl odds improving from +800 to +600 and made Los Angeles the favorites to win the NFC (+300) and the NFC West (+100), ESPN reported. ESPN NFL Nation reporters and national analysts have published further analysis and grades on how the transaction affects both clubs.
