Rams acquire Myles Garrett from Browns in blockbuster win-now move

 Los Angeles receive reigning DPOY Myles Garrett for 2024 DROY Jared Verse and a 2027 first-round pick

The Los Angeles Rams were already one of the NFL’s most aggressive teams this offseason. Now, they may have made the move that defines the entire championship race.

The Rams acquired reigning Defensive Player of the Year and NFL sack record holder Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns in a blockbuster trade, sending edge rusher Jared Verse and a 2027 first-round pick to Cleveland.

The deal comes just 15 months after the Browns made Garrett the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history at the time. Garrett, 30, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and had become the face of Cleveland’s defense.

Now, he is headed to a Rams team that already looked like a Super Bowl contender.

Rumors surfaced within the last 24 hours that the Rams, Eagles and Cowboys were all making offers for Garrett, but Los Angeles ultimately landed him in one of the boldest trades of the offseason.

For the Rams, the move is a clear signal that they are not easing into a transition period. They are chasing a championship right now.

Los Angeles is coming off a season where quarterback Matthew Stafford won MVP and the Rams finished just four points away from reaching the Super Bowl. At the draft last month in Pittsburgh, the Rams shocked the league by selecting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the No. 13 pick, despite Stafford still playing at an elite level.

Instead of that pick signaling a rebuild, the Garrett trade suggests Los Angeles is trying to balance two timelines at once: prepare for the future while loading up for another championship run with Stafford.

Garrett now joins a defense that already added All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie earlier this offseason in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Rams gave up a first-round pick in that deal as well, making this one of the most aggressive team-building pushes in recent NFL memory.

Adding Garrett gives Los Angeles a true game-wrecking pass rusher. Even at 30, he remains one of the league’s most dominant defensive players and someone opposing offenses have to account for on every snap. Paired with McDuffie in the secondary, the Rams now have elite talent at two of the most valuable defensive positions in football.

The price, however, was massive.

Verse gives Cleveland a younger edge rusher who is entering the final year of his rookie contract and could be looking for a major payday soon. He may not replace Garrett’s production immediately, but he gives the Browns a high-upside defensive centerpiece as they reshape their roster under new head coach Todd Monken.

Monken said earlier Monday that he was never guaranteed Garrett would be on the roster when he accepted the Browns’ head coaching job in January. That comment now looks like a sign that Cleveland’s new regime had been preparing for the possibility of a franchise-altering move.

The 2027 first-round pick may be the most fascinating part of the trade. Around the league, that draft class is already viewed as one of the best — or at least one of the deepest — since 2011. Trading a first-round pick from that class is a major gamble, especially for a team with an aging starting quarterback and a rookie first-round quarterback waiting behind him.

But the Rams have never been afraid of aggressive team building. This move fits their identity: star power, urgency and a willingness to sacrifice future flexibility for a real shot at a championship.

For Cleveland, the trade represents a stunning shift. Garrett was not just the Browns’ best defensive player. He was the defining player of the franchise. Moving him so soon after making him the highest-paid defender in league history signals a major reset under Monken.

For Los Angeles, the message is much simpler.

The Rams believe they are close. They were four points away last season. They added McDuffie. They drafted Simpson. Now they have Garrett.

And with the Super Bowl set to be played in Los Angeles, the Rams appear to be chasing one of the rarest achievements in NFL history: playing for a championship in their own stadium.

This is not a cautious move.

It is the Rams looking at an open championship window and deciding to kick it all the way in.

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