The Browns just opened the Todd Monken era by waving the white flag

The Myles Garrett era in Cleveland is ending, and until we get the full details on the Browns' bombshell trade with the Los Angeles Rams that is expected to be finalized soon, per ESPN insider Adam Schefter, fans understandably won’t know how to feel. 

I know how I would be feeling if I were Todd Monken, though. There wouldn't be enough cuss words in the English language to cover it.

It’s hard not to look at this decision as anything other than a white-flag moment by GM Andrew Berry and owner Jimmy Haslam entering Monken’s first season. The new head coach never got so much as a face-to-face meeting with Garrett, and now he’ll enter the meat of the offseason program without the NFL's single biggest game-wrecker. 

The Browns, according to Schefter, are getting 25-year-old pass rusher Jared Verse back in this deal, along with the Rams’ 2027 first-round pick and other draft compensation that’s still being discussed. Verse is one of the league’s ascending young stars — he had 100 quarterback pressures for the Rams last season, per Pro Football Focus — but no one impacts the game like Garrett. That’s why the Rams, all-in on a championship entering the final years of Matthew Stafford’s career, are apparently sending Verse and much more to Cleveland to acquire one of the game’s true cheat codes.

The Browns just sent Todd Monken and Browns fans a brutal message about the upcoming 2026 season 

When the Browns casually reworked language in Garrett’s contract around option-bonus payments, including for 2026, rampant speculation about a potential trade followed. That move definitely made a trade more plausible at the time, and the Rams will be absorbing Garrett’s full $31.5 million base salary this season.

A trade this summer still felt like a long shot, though, considering the strides the team has made over the last four months. After hiring Monken, the Browns have undergone an aggressive makeover on offense, completely revamping the offensive line while adding multiple new young weapons at the skill positions. 

Garrett has opined about winning in recent seasons, and the Browns approached the start of this offseason in win-now mode. But it apparently wasn’t enough. Garrett couldn’t give Monken the benefit of a phone call to feel out the team’s new direction, and now he’s headed to L.A., where a Super Bowl could soon be in his future.

As for the Browns? Even with a tantalizing young talent like Verse entering the mix, their future lies somewhere down the road. Cleveland could be multiple drafts and developmental years away from real contender-level status. Maybe that’s what Monken signed up for, but it’s still a curious approach for a franchise that just hired a 60-year-old head coach.

The Browns were obviously not about to enter 2026 as a Super Bowl contender like the Rams. But a winning season? Ten wins? That seemed possible given their favorable schedule in the second half of the season. That was with the league’s most dominant defensive player in the projected lineup, though. 

This trade could be great for the future of the franchise. It’s just not great for the 2026 season. The Browns just set themselves up to contend more for a high 2027 draft slot than a higher winning percentage this year, and that has to be hard for Browns fans to stomach right now.

It's especially brutal for the new head coach.

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