Reports clarify two huge aspects of Browns trading Myles Garrett to Rams

The Cleveland Browns completed a blockbuster trade on Monday. They sent two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams for edge-rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round draft pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round choice.

Later in the day, ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler touched upon multiple aspects of the trade that The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue and Zac Jackson noted could "break the NFL." 

Myles Garrett did not ask the Browns to trade him

"My early sense is the trade was very Rams-specific, meaning no other teams were involved in talks," Fowler wrote. "The Browns coveted Verse, a young, elite pass-rusher. That limited the pool of candidates greatly, and as one team source said, the Rams were 'hounding' Cleveland about the deal for a while. Adding Verse to the package was a late development. I was told that Garrett never made a trade request. ...Perhaps he wanted a change of scenery, but relocating Garrett for the player's sake was not a part of this."

Garrett went public with a trade request in February 2025, but he later signed a four-year, $160M contract extension that included $123.5M guaranteed to stay with the Browns. He then went on to set a new single-season sacks record, but Cleveland nevertheless finished this past campaign at 5-12. 

Additionally, the perception exists that the Browns don't have a long-term franchise quarterback on their roster this spring. Thus, Garrett likely is thrilled to be joining a win-now Rams team that is coming off a trip to this year's NFC Championship Game. 

"We met with Myles on Saturday and told him we are extremely grateful for all that he contributed to our team and to our community and that he will always be a Cleveland Brown," Browns co-owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a statement shared via the team's website. "We look forward to welcoming him back at the appropriate time and wish him and his family only the best."

What about the rumors involving the Eagles, other teams? 

As recently as Monday morning, rumors suggested that the Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles were among the teams making a push to land Garrett. For an article published on Tuesday morning, Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote that "the Rams were the only team with whom [the Browns] engaged in substantive talks" regarding a Garrett trade. 

"The Eagles and Cowboys were rumored to be interested, but serious trade talks never materialized," Cabot continued. "The Browns were fully prepared to walk away from the deal if Verse was not a part of it." 

Cabot added that "the Browns stressed that no deal would get done without Verse included." Cabot also insisted that "the acquisition of Verse is confirmation that the Browns aren’t tanking this season." 

That's fine to say on June 2, but one can't be blamed for assuming that Browns general manager Andrew Berry is already thinking about which quarterback he will target in the 2027 NFL Draft.