The change of the calendar to June 1st was supposed to be a day headlined by the seemingly inevitable A.J. Brown trade to the Patriots. However, the Browns and Rams stole the show with a massive blockbuster that sent star pass rusher Myles Garrett to the Rams in exchange for Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick.

The Browns postured all offseason that they weren’t looking to move on from Garrett despite moving his option bonus payment date from March to September, which made a trade easier to facilitate from a financial standpoint. He wasn’t in attendance during voluntary OTAs, something common for him, but the lack of verbal communication with new HC Todd Monken was a signal that something could be up.

Garrett wasn’t nearly as vocal as he was last offseason, when he went on radio row during Super Bowl week to request a trade in pursuit of a Super Bowl. It’s fair to assume his stance hadn’t changed and he still was open to a trade, since his contract made it nearly impossible for a move to happen last year. However, it does sound like the Rams were incredibly aggressive in these talks and wanted to do whatever it took to get the deal done.

The trade is now official, so here a breakdown of how each team came out. 

Browns Grade: A

Browns receive:

• DE Jared Verse
• 2027 1st-round pick
• 2028 2nd-round pick
• 2029 3rd-round pick

Trading away a future first ballot Hall of Famer fresh off a record-breaking 23-sack season is never going to be something that goes over well with the fan base. It’s undeniable Garrett is one of the best players in Cleveland’s franchise history after being taken number one overall in 2017. However, at 30 years old, it’s clear that his and the Browns’ timelines were no longer in sync, and it was time for the two sides to move on. 

Cleveland hasn’t made a significant investment at the quarterback position since the trade for Deshaun Watson, and this trade is them acknowledging that a contending window will not open until they have a franchise signal-caller. Instead of playing out Garrett’s career with an elite defense that ultimately can never reach their goals because of quarterback play, the Browns decided to leverage Garrett’s value to acquire another high pick in a draft thought to be loaded with elite talent, specifically at quarterback.

Verse is not Garrett, and he will not likely ever be Garrett, but he is a very talented pass rusher who fits the team’s timeline much better and allows them to pick up strong future draft capital to potentially find a long-term QB. It’s not often that Defensive Rookie of the Year winners get traded while still on their inexpensive rookie deals, and it feels like Verse’s combination of talent and financial value is being overlooked in this trade.

The Browns will have two years of team control on Verse as he’s entering the third year of his rookie contract, and there’s a fifth-year option for the Browns to pick up next year for 2028. According to OverTheCap, trading Garrett will free up $8,340,000 of cap space while creating $15,534,000 of dead money in 2026 and over $25 million in dead cap for 2027.

The circumstances leading up to what caused this trade are a different subject, but this move in a vacuum feels like the Browns did the right thing for their future. They always walked away with a premium package of picks to continue building out their roster in the years to come. 

Rams Grade: A

Rams receive:

• DE Myles Garrett

The Rams continued their all-in approach to the offseason by getting one of the best defensive players in league history. After coming up short against the Seahawks in the NFC championship game, the Rams’ offseason has now consisted of trading for CB Trent McDuffie and Garrett, giving up Verse and two first-round picks among other draft capital to help their chances in 2026. 

Giving up an up-and-coming 25-year-old pass rusher and a package of picks, including a first-rounder in one of the more coveted classes in recent history, is a steep price to pay — but Garrett is one of the few players undeniably worth that much and maybe more. The Rams were clearly on the level of the rest of the contenders in 2025, and adding McDuffie and now Garrett to the mix probably makes them the title favorites heading into the year.

Garrett has had double-digit sacks in eight straight years and brings someone who will consume an opposing offense’s game plan in the same way Aaron Donald did. The Rams were eighth in sacks and pass rush win rate last year, but the impact Garrett will have on all phases of the defense goes so far beyond what any statistic out there could show.

Handing both teams an A-grade feels like the easy way out, but this seems like a rare win-win trade where two franchises in opposite positions did what was best for them. The Rams continued on the timeline with 38-year-old QB Matthew Stafford and went all-in on the next few years to do their best to get another Super Bowl title, while the Browns cashed in on an elite player to help them find their long-term QB, and got an elite pass rusher who better fits their timeline.

Per Spotrac, Garrett has five years, $178 million remaining on his contract through 2030 with $98.8 million guaranteed. He waived his no-trade clause to facilitate this deal, but he will keep the clause in his contract with the Rams as well.

Los Angeles’ only first-round pick this year was used on QB Ty Simpson, who won’t help this year, but the selection makes more sense following this trade when considering the lack of first-round picks the Rams are going to have in the coming years.

The Rams spent a significant amount of assets to bolster their defense this year, but the result might just be the most talented roster in football.