The Los Angeles Rams made the biggest splash of the NFL offseason, and perhaps in years, on Monday when they acquired reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Browns.
It didn’t come cheap as the Rams gave up Pro Bowler Jared Verse and other draft assets, but Garrett is a piece that can get them over the top to return to the Super Bowl this year at SoFi Stadium. And according to Jourdan Rodrigue and Zac Jackson of The Athletic, the defensive end is a player Sean McVay and the Rams have been coveting for a while:
The Rams have coveted Garrett for years. He’s one of McVay’s favorite players — ever. The coach believes Garrett could eventually be regarded as the best outside pass rusher of all time.
L.A.’s pursuit of Garrett goes all the way back to 2022 when they were defending their Super Bowl title, but the Browns were reluctant to deal the 30-year-old until now:
L.A. first called the Browns to inquire about Garrett’s availability in 2022 as the Rams attempted to repeat as Super Bowl champions, according to a league source.
That season was ultimately disastrous, due to the Rams’ injuries and McVay’s own burnout. Cleveland also was not open to trading Garrett at the time. Rams leadership discussed moving for him again the following offseason before ultimately opting for a teardown into 2023, rebuilding their roster through strong draft classes that spring and in 2024.
McVay’s infatuation with Garrett is well-known, and he even let the superstar himself know that after the Rams beat the Browns in 2023:
“I didn’t f—ing sleep all week because of you,” the Rams head coach told Garrett, laughing. Ahead of that game, McVay and his offensive coaches had agonized over how to slow down Garrett, a player so dominant in his nine NFL seasons that he has twice won Defensive Player of the Year honors and broke the league’s single-season sack record last season.
Obviously every coach would love to have Garrett on his team, but McVay and the Rams have always been aggressive pursuing superstar-level players and this is just the latest example.
What Rams gave up for Myles Garrett
Acquiring a player of Garrett’s caliber understandably does not come cheap, and the Rams ultimately had to give up Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-rounder and 2029 third-rounder.
Garrett is under contract through 2030 though, so the Rams will have multiple cracks at winning another Super Bowl.
