The Cleveland Browns made one of the boldest and most polarizing trades in NFL history. Sending Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams made sense for a rebuilding team, but not for one that insisted that it was ready to compete.
Garrett's rough debut in Thursday's 27-7 season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Australia may not vindicate the trade yet — it's way too early for that — but it certainly showed the Rams that it won't be a cakewalk. As great a player as Garrett is, he still needs to adapt.
The Rams' once-stout run defense was nowhere to be found in Australia. Given Jared Verse's more natural fit in a 3-4 scheme and his familiarity with the defense, Sean McVay certainly missed his former first-round draft pick.
Jared Verse gives the Browns something even Myles Garrett couldn't always provide
Garrett finished the game with a huge nothing-burger. He didn't register a single pressure, tackle, tackle for loss, quarterback hit, or sack. He was clearly gassed and rotated on and off of the field for most of the game, playing 40 of a possible 65 defensive snaps (61.5 percent).
To Garrett's credit, he owned his lack of impact to reporters after the game.
“This was the worst version of myself that I’ve put out there. I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to find a way to recover and get back to the player I know I can be and I’ve shown that I’ve been before.”
Of course, this isn't to say that Verse is the better player. Garrett has a legitimate case to be the best player in football. But sometimes, being the best doesn't necessarily mean you're the best fit or the most well-rounded player.
Perhaps Verse will never get 20-plus sacks in a single season, but he can certainly be more of a factor against the run. With Cleveland, Garrett drew the most attention and forced opposing teams to come with carefully crafted game plans, but he was never a running-game specialist.
The whole Garrett experience has been frustrating thus far in Los Angeles. A knee injury kept him off the practice field during training camp, and it was pretty obvious that he was still out of place and getting comfortable during Thursday night's opener.
It shouldn't take long for Garrett to get back to full strength and start wrecking games as usual, and the Browns can't win a trade after just one game.
But would the Rams have allowed 174 rushing yards to the 49ers with Jared Verse setting the edge? That seems highly unlikely. Per ESPN, Verse ranked No. 2 among all edge defenders in 2025 in run-stop win rate.
Now, it's up to Verse to let the world know that the Browns made the right call. No one in Los Angeles will dare admit it, but Chris Shula's defense could have used their former Defensive Rookie of the Year in their loss down under.
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