Myles Garrett trade winners & losers: Edge rusher gets Super Bowl shot on Rams, Cleveland loses another legend

An elite pass rusher switched teams for the second straight offseason.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Cleveland Browns are finalizing a trade that would send edge rusher Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for edge rusher Jared Verse and a 2027 first-round NFL Draft pick. The Browns also receive a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick, according to Schefter.

Myles Garrett trade winners & losers

Winner: Myles Garrett

Garrett, 30, lands with a Super Bowl contender. He ranks third among active players with 125.5 career sacks and should bypass Von Miller (138.5) and Cameron Jordan (125.5) at some point before retirement.

For all that success, however, Garrett played in just three playoff games in nine seasons with the Browns. This will allow Garrett a chance to be a part of a playoff contender, and he gives Los Angeles a pass-rushing presence they haven’t had since Aaron Donald – who had 123 career sacks and helped the Rams win XLVI against Cincinnati – retired after the 2023 season.

This is comparable to Reggie White signing with Green Bay before the 1993 NFL season. White spent his first eight seasons with Philadelphia before six seasons with the Packers – and he helped Green Bay win Super Bowl XXXI. Garrett signed a four-year, $160 million deal with Cleveland before last season after previously requesting a trade. He should finish his career with the Rams.

Losers: Jared Verse

The Browns get Verse in return, and the No. 19 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft has enjoyed a stellar start to his NFL career. He has 12 sacks in two seasons and is a two-time Pro Bowl selection. Verse just isn’t the same kind of force as Garrett.

Cleveland compiled 53 sacks last season and allowed 22.3 points per game, which ranked 14th in the NFL. That helped compensate for an offense that ranked 31st with 16.4 points per game. Garrett accounted for 43.4% of the Browns’ sacks. The Rams had 47 sacks – and Verse accounted for 15.9% of those sacks. Los Angeles also ranked first in the NFL with 30.5 points per game.

Verse is a Dayton, Ohio native who made the rise from FCS star at Albany through Florida State to the NFL. He’ll be a fan favorite – but the pressure to replace Garrett’s production will be almost impossible to match.

MORE: How Myles Garrett trade package compares to other massive deals for edge rushers

Winner: Rams front office

Remember the criticism of the Los Angeles Rams during the 2026 NFL Draft after selecting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the No. 13 pick? General manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay were panned after the selection for the succession plan for 38-year-old quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Los Angeles made the NFC Championship Game last season before a 31-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and the Simpson pick was seen as not being able to help the Rams while the Super Bowl window remained open. Garrett is a shape-shifting trade in the NFC, and it puts the Simpson pick in the rear-view mirror for the 2026 season and beyond. This now becomes an all-in year for Los Angeles, and it’s a shrewd trade to land the best pass rusher in the NFL.

Losers: Another Cleveland legend leaves

How many legendary Cleveland players left then won a championship somewhere else? Bernie Kosar, Manny Ramirez, CC Sabathia are among the fan favorites who won a championship after leaving Cleveland.

Hey, at least LeBron James came back and won the 2016 NBA Finals. But even James won three NBA championships between stints with Miami and Los Angeles after the stints with the Cavaliers.

We ranked No. 6 on the all-time list of the best-ever NFL players on the worst teams, and former Browns tackle Joe Thomas was No. 1. While some Cleveland fans might be happy Garrett gets a chance at a Super Bowl ring, what does it say about the immediate future of a franchise that averaged four wins the last two seasons?

Winners: Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers

Garrett had 43 career sacks in 46 career games against AFC North opponents Baltimore, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. He had 5.5 sacks against the Ravens in two games last season and three sacks in two games against the Bengals. Jackson and Burrow have to be happy that Cleveland’s best pass rusher is out of the division.

Garrett did not have a sack against the Steelers in two games last season, so Aaron Rodgers also caught a break heading into his 22nd NFL season.

Loser: Brock Purdy, Sam Darnold and Jacoby Brissett

The NFC West was the most-competitive division in the NFL last season.

The Rams split with the 49ers, and Mac Jones took just two sacks in those starts, when Purdy was out with a toe injury. Purdy will face a different game with Garrett in the lineup for Los Angeles.

Darnold took seven sacks in three games against the Rams last season and had four interceptions in the first meeting – a 21-19 loss at Los Angeles in Week 11. How will he fare under pressure with Garrett in the lineup?

MORE: How Myles Garrett adds to dangerous Rams defensive projections

Winner: Browns odds to get No. 1 pick in 2027

The Browns’ new stadium is scheduled to open in Brook Park, Ohio, at the start of the 2029 season. This trade feels like one of many steps to build the best possible product when that stadium opens.

Yet the pressure is still on owner Jimmy Haslam, general manager Andrew Berry and first-year coach Todd Monken to maintain the interest in the franchise – which is never easy after trading one of the best players in franchise history. Cleveland did have a strong draft in 2026 with first-round picks Spencer Fano and KC Concepcion leading the way. Cleveland will have multiple first-round picks, and one of those presumably could be used on a quarterback, knowing Deshaun Watson is in the final year of a five-year, $230 million contract. The 2027 QB class is strong, with names such as Arch Manning and Dante Moore at the top. Perhaps that QB question will be answered once and for all.

But, to steal a line from «Roadhouse,» it’ll get worse before it gets better. This is the definition of a long-term gamble, and Haslam will give Berry and Monken latitude here. But how much more pain can Cleveland fans withstand?

Myles Garrett trade winners & losers: Edge rusher gets Super Bowl shot on Rams, Cleveland loses another legend