What always seemed like a distant possibility finally happened. The Cleveland Browns have traded Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, and a pair of future Day 2 selections.
Losing a future Hall of Famer and a two-time Defensive Player of the Year is a massive blow, though the Browns did a fine job of mitigating that hit by acquiring a blossoming young pass rusher. That said, Jared Verse is no Myles Garrett, at least not at this point in his career.
That's why the Browns can't rest on their laurels and just hope that the newcomer can make up for Garrett's absence. With Joey Bosa still available, the Browns should look into bringing the former Ohio State star back home.
The Cleveland Browns have to sign Joey Bosa
It's been a decade since Bosa dominated in Ohio, and with a long history of injuries, there are reasons to be skeptical. However, he's the best option available in free agency by a wide margin, and he's coming off a strong season.
Bosa just led the league with five forced fumbles. He had five sacks, a career-best two pass breakups, and nine tackles for loss. He's also been healthy for most of the past two seasons, which is always the primary concern with him.
Of course, this is not to say that Bosa will outright replace Garrett — no one can. But a pass-rushing group of Jared Verse, Bosa, Alex Wright, and Isaiah McGuire would still be plenty formidable, especially with capable interior rushers like Mason Graham and Maliek Collins still in the fold.
The Browns could rotate Bosa with Wright and McGuire to keep him healthy and fresh. He played just 563 defensive snaps last season, yet he drew the NFL's seventh-highest pass-rushing grade (88.7), per Pro Football Focus, and registered 47 total pressures in 336 pass-rushing snaps overall.
The Browns tried to sign A.J. Epenesa earlier in the offseason, so clearly, they still wanted to add more firepower to their pass-rushing department. That's another reason to consider Bosa, who's coming off playing in the same defensive scheme as Epenesa with the Buffalo Bills.
The Browns kept Garrett trade talks under wraps for most of the offseason, but there were signs. His absence from OTAs went mostly unnoticed, but the fact that he didn't meet with Todd Monken spoke volumes.
No one ever wants to lose a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, and Garrett will likely still one day become the most decorated player in franchise history.
Even so, the show must go on, and Andrew Berry must give defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg the groceries he needs to make sure this defense doesn't regress in 2026.
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