New details emerge into why Browns traded Myles Garrett to Rams

Yet another franchise great has found his way out of what many fans mockingly dub "the Factory of Sadness."

On June 1, the Browns traded star pass rusher Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for pass rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2029 third-round pick. Sure, the Browns received much-needed draft capital, but it comes from a potential Super Bowl champion within the next couple of seasons. That, and they get a young stud pass rusher in Verse. Yet, that won't be enough to replace a future Hall of Famer in Garrett.

Browns fans remember last offseason, when he requested a trade from the Browns, as he cited winning a Super Bowl as one of his reasons. Yet, he stayed put on a four-year, $160 million contract extension. Considering the trade went through on Monday, fans may have thought he requested a trade to the Rams. That wasn't the case.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler provided some new details on how the Garrett trade came about. Fowler says that the Rams had been persistent with their phone calls about acquiring Garrett, and that the candidate pool shrunk due to the Browns' prospects of acquiring a young pass rusher like Verse. Fowler also says that Garrett didn't request the trade to the Rams, saying that the Browns were the ones who agreed to it due to the value they'd get in return.

Myles Garrett trade was not single-handedly orchestrated by star

Garrett does carry a no-trade clause, so he does have to approve of the trade. But as Fowler mentions, Garrett didn't go to Cleveland's front office and demand a trade this offseason. This was a matter of the Browns looking at the value they were getting in return from the Rams and deciding they were comfortable in trading the two-time Defensive Player of the Year Award winner.

Verse was one of the bright spots on the Rams' defense, as evidenced by him winning the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2024, and posting 7.5 sacks and 27 quarterback hits this past season.

There is a bit more to the trade as well. ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi mentions that while Garrett didn't request a trade, he was "open to new scenery." Oyefusi also mentions that the Browns not hiring Jim Schwartz as head coach "didn't help matters."

The Browns' head coaching search was notable for the amount of candidates that turned down interview requests throughout the offseason. With that, their finalists were Schwartz, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, and Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski. Yet, the Browns picked Monken over Schwartz. While there was buzz that Schwartz would stay with the team as defensive coordinator, that didn't happen as he left the organization immediately after the Monken announcement.

Garrett had a strong relationship with Schwartz, and the fact that the Browns didn't promote him to head coach and watched him walk out of the facility seems to have played a role. Schwartz knew how to scheme up Garrett. Look no further than this past campaign, as he broke the single-season sacks record with 23.0, and also recorded 33 tackles for loss.

Even with Garrett's historic production on defense, this was a Cleveland team that wasn't winning. That's why former head coach Kevin Stefanski was shown the door after last season. With the Rams, they were one win away from reaching Super Bowl 60. They have always shown they are all-in on winning the Lombardi Trophy. Acquiring Garrett was yet another example.

Long story short, Garrett is no longer in Cleveland and now finds himself in a brighter situation in Los Angeles. As for the Browns, they are going to once again bank on the draft picks they acquired hitting to try and replace a Hall of Fame caliber player.

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