The Cleveland Browns traded Myles Garrett on June 1. The Browns acquired Jared Verse and three draft picks from the LA Rams in exchange. 

That trade has become a major topic of discussion, and an NFL insider says it was the best decision by the Browns to trade the DE.

“[Trading Garrett] shows that the Browns get it. Not trading Garrett shows that the Browns didn’t get it. It was a mistake last year to not trade him,” said Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on the 92.3 The Fan.

Garrett was the face of the franchise with a league-high 23 sacks last season and two Defensive Player of the Year honors.

“I think they did the right thing by acknowledging that as much as we’d like this guy to retire as a Brown, we have to do the right thing for the team. It's time for this very expensive piece in the football machine to be removed and replaced with younger, cheaper pieces," Florio explained.

So, Florio believes this trade could prepare the Browns for a better future. Because with their current quarterback situation, Garrett’s presence wasn't going to be enough to pull the team up.

“The Rams are obviously trying to close the small gap between themselves and the Seahawks at the top of the entire league, while the Browns will continue to build for a future that always seems to remain in the future,” wrote Florio on June 1. 

Florio stated that Garrett is going to "diminish over Verse, who is on the trajectory upward," and called this a win for the Browns if Verse continues to blossom in his career. 

“Given the young nucleus of talent players the Browns have been compiling, they could finally be moving in the right direction,” added Florio.

Florio endorsed this trade by the Browns and believed that Verse could ultimately provide the kind of production they once had with Garrett. 

NFL insiders, Dave Bacon and Lance Reisland, disagreed with Florio’s take and jumped to Garrett’s defense.

NFL Insiders Criticize Browns for Letting Go of Garrett

Dave Bacon and Lance Reisland responded with their takes to what Florio said about the Browns trading Garrett for Verse and three draft picks on the Sports4CLE show. 

Dave Bacon shared that he gets the thought process behind Florio’s statement, but he doesn’t “really agree with it”. He added that the 30-year-old Garrett set the sack record, and it’s not time to “get a walker” for the defensive end. 

“When people say that it was a good move for the Browns, maybe it was an understandable move. I don't know if getting rid of your best football player is ever a good move. But, sometimes you have to do things that are great for your organization,” Lance Reisland said.

Reisland concluded by saying that he’s never going to be on board with trading the best guy for something better.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Naomi Grace

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore