Star defensive end Myles Garrett has been traded by the Cleveland Browns to the Los Angeles franchise.
Reports from both clubs on Monday confirmed that the Rams secured Garrett through a significant trade. Cleveland will receive defensive end Jared Verse, alongside a first-round selection in the 2027 draft, a second-round pick in 2028, and a third-round selection in 2029.
The acclaimed defensive end holds the distinction of having the most sacks in a single season. Garrett established this benchmark in 2025 by achieving 23 sacks, thereby exceeding the 22.5 sack totals previously held by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt.
The Browns originally selected Garrett as the top overall pick in the 2017 draft. He earned the prestigious Defensive Player of the Year award for the league during both the 2023 and 2025 seasons.
Throughout his nine-year professional tenure, the defensive player has participated in 134 games, accumulating 125.5 career sacks heading into the 2026 season. This impressive total places him 20th on the all-time list, a statistic tracked since 1982.
Verse, at 25 years old, has completed two seasons in the professional league. Los Angeles chose him as the 19th overall selection in the 2024 Draft, where he also claimed the title of Defensive Rookie of the Year.
During the 2025 season, the defensive lineman achieved 7.5 sacks, significantly bettering his rookie season total of 4.5 sacks. Verse’s initial contract has two years remaining, and Cleveland possesses a potential fifth-year option for the 2028 season.
On Monday evening, Garrett issued a statement expressing gratitude to the city of Cleveland for his nine seasons spent with the Browns organization.
Speculation about a trade emerged on Monday, leading to new head coach Todd Monken being questioned by reporters regarding Garrett’s presence with the team on June 9, the start date for mandatory minicamp. Monken’s response was ambiguous and noncommittal:
“Well, he’s not like any other player. I’m never told who’s gonna be on the team, who’s not gonna be on the team. That’s a question.
Every day we evaluate the roster, Andrew [Berry] evaluates the roster, management evaluates the roster, like I said he is no different than any other player we’ve got, so it’s, I don’t know how to respond to that cause it’s really no different today than it’s been for the last however many months I’ve been the head coach.”
As a result of this trade, the Browns now incur a $15,334,000 dead cap hit for their 2026 financial records, but will have the option to defer $24,956,225 to their 2027 accounting, as reported by Spotrac.
Earlier on Monday, Browns general manager Andrew Berry addressed inquiries regarding the transaction.
“Nothing is final at this point,” he said. “We are in discussions of a potential transaction including [Myles Garrett]. We are in negotiations. We’re hopeful that we close something here in the next several hours … I’ll have an update … maybe as soon as tomorrow.”
Previously, in March, Berry had dismissed any rumors about trading Garrett, stating he was destined to be a “career Brown.”
However, Cleveland has now parted ways with a prominent defensive talent, gaining another essential player and significant draft assets through this major transaction. The period defined by Garrett’s presence in Cleveland has conclusively ended.
