The Los Angeles Rams’ trade for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie is one of the biggest moves of the offseason and one that many expected to vault them into Super Bowl favorites. No one expected the Rams to top that move later in the offseason by trading for reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.
Of course, in order to acquire Garrett, the Rams had to give up Jared Verse, one of the most promising young pass rushers in the league. And McDuffie revealed that the mood within the Rams was not one of pure joy, because many were sad at losing such a beloved player in Verse.
“I remember when Myles Garrett got traded, like that day,” McDuffie said on Bussin With The Boys. “The news broke, Sean McVay told the team and we went into our DB meeting and we didn’t even meet, we just talked. For an hour straight, coach was just like ‘I’m gonna open the floor, just get your feelings out.’ Obviously they lost Jared Verse. Jared Verse was a huge part. Guys loved him, I could tell. Dude came to work, he had high energy. He was loved. I know that kind og hurt a lot of guys when they traded him.”
McDuffie would continue on, saying he realized how special the Rams organization was in how they reacted to and handled the news of the deal.
“That’s like one of my favorite moments from even just being on the team was Sean McVay standing up in the room, with Jared Verse in the room, saying what happened, letting Jared Verse get up and say a few words,” McDuffie added. “And every single guy went up to Jared Verse, shook his hand, gave him some words of encouragement. Like guys weren’t even like EXCITED, excited, knowing you have Myles Garrett coming to the team. I heard the news I started smiling. I looked around, I was like, ‘Oh.’ Everyone was like, ‘Whoa, hold on. J-Verse? Like you’re gonna let him go?’ And I was like that’s special. Right there, off rip for me I was like there’s something here about just how tight knit this group is. It really feels like a home.”
It seems unbelievable that the team wouldn’t be overly excited about acquiring the best defensive player of this current generation, but Verse was such a big part of the Rams’ run these last two seasons. As McDuffie said, Verse was loved in that locker room and losing someone like that isn’t easy, even if it means bringing in someone like Garrett.
Now that training camp is underway and players are on the field, the excitement about what is possible with this Rams team is there. But in that initial moment it’s hard to see someone like Verse go and the way the Rams handled that should be commended.
Aaron Donald participates in official workout with Rams
Somehow, some way the Rams’ defense might still get even better as legendary defensive tackle Aaron Donald participated in an official workout with the team as he continues to consider a comeback.
