At this rate, it seems as though Browns fans are tired of hearing about the Myles Garrett trade. There's a mix of apathy and "we'll appreciate his time here when he hangs 'em up" — a totally fair range of emotions for fans who saw the best defender in franchise history ripped away after one of the greatest seasons of all time. What's interesting is, as folks continue to dissect the trade, somehow the Browns keep coming out worse.
The truth of the matter is this: NFL trades are a lot like placing an order at Chipotle. You always want a little more on top, but you know what you got is pretty fair to begin with. That's what critiques of the Myles Garrett trade come down to. And they miss the mark by a wide margin.
Andrew Berry was able to coax a historic trade package out of the Los Angeles Rams for a 30-year-old defensive lineman. First-, second-, and third-round picks are simply the cherry on top. In acquiring Jared Verse, the Browns accomplished the near-impossible. They traded an older and admittedly better player right now for a much younger player who is among the best in the league in his own right.
As far as timelines go, the Cleveland Browns hit the Myles Garrett trade out of the park
At this stage of his career, many would argue that Jared Verse is worth a first-round pick and more in trade. It's all moot, because absent a player like Myles Garrett, the Rams would never have traded him for picks in the first place. That's because he's so valuable, young, and skilled at one of the game's most important positions.
So, while folks point to the lack of exorbitant draft pick compensation, they're ignoring the fact that Verse wasn't a throw-in. We're talking about one of the best pass rushers in the league here.
In re-grading the trade, Bleacher Report's Moe Moton gave the Rams a sterling A, while giving the Browns a pretty harsh C. Hearing him explain it raises some questions as to why he didn't like the deal in the first place.
"Browns general manager Andrew Berry should've known that the team's timeline for playoff contention and Garrett's desire to play in the postseason didn't align in the short term. Remember, Garrett requested a trade last offseason, but Cleveland signed him to a new deal. The Browns' money didn't fix everything, and they traded the star edge-rusher one year later. Nonetheless, Cleveland may have been able to get more from Los Angeles with Garrett coming off a historic season."
On one hand, there's no way to know what the offers would've been like in 2025. On the other, as Moton notes, Garrett broke records last season. While admonishing Andrew Berry for not trading him sooner, he quickly notes the team might've gotten more value simply because of the season Garrett had.
Forgive me if I'm missing something, but doesn't this make the move all the more impressive for Berry? Say, maybe even a master class? He was able to keep Garrett in tow for one more year with hopes that the 2025 Browns would catch lightning in a bottle. They didn't, and he was still able to sell high. This is quite literally like playing with fire and coming out not only unscathed, but somehow, fireproof.
Longtime Browns fans know the story all too well at this point. Cleveland will never get the benefit of the doubt until they start winning consistently. Fans know the reality that surrounds this team. When it comes to trading a player like Garrett, it's always going to sting a little bit. That doesn't inherently make the return a bad one, or even disappointing like a C grade would suggest.
In fact, the Browns made out like bandits. They took the Rams' desperation for a Super Bowl in 2026 and set themselves up for a much brighter future. For that alone, this trade was an A+.
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