The Browns pulled off a blockbuster trade on Monday. They sent their 2025 Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett, to the Rams in exchange for Jared Verse and three different round picks for 2027-2029.

This trade sent shockwaves throughout the NFL. The league’s executives had mixed reactions to the trade, but one executive criticized the Browns for not trading their defensive end sooner. 

“Garrett wanted out of Cleveland a year ago, but the Browns had other plans,” said NFL exec Ralph Vacchiano. “They wanted to make him the face of the franchise as they started rebuilding from scratch, giving him a record extension at that time.”

The DE appealed for a trade in February 2025 via a social media post. A month later, the Browns signed a four-year contract with a no-trade clause for $160 million, the highest trade in the NFL for a DE.

Vacchiano added that the Browns resisted all efforts to trade Garrett, but managed to get a historic season out of him. Garrett made NFL history with 23 sacks in one season and became the Defensive Player of the Year for the second time. 

Garrett’s individual success didn’t rub off on the team, which ended with a 5-12 record for the 2025 season. 

“I don’t know what they got out of keeping him,” Vacchiano added. “They knew they didn’t have a quarterback. They knew they probably wouldn’t be good until late in his deal. He’s a great player, don’t get me wrong, but they needed the assets more.”

Vacchiano concluded by blaming the Browns for coming up with plans that last a year and believed that they would’ve got a better deal last year or the same one. He was blunt in his statement that the Browns can’t “run a franchise by starting over every year”.

The Browns Defend Their Move of Trading Myles Garrett to the Rams

The Browns had the opportunity to trade Myles last year, but the Browns’ general manager refused to. Speaking to the media after the trade on Monday, GM Andrew Berry explained what changed for him and the Browns in one year that led them to agree to the trade. 

“I’d always told myself that if we were going to trade Myles, three things would have to be true,” said Berry. “No.1, it would have to have short and long-term benefits. No.2, as part of the trade, a young cost-controlled star at a premium position would have to be included.

The third condition was that there would have to be premium draft capital and there’s a very small set of deals that really satisfy those constraints.

Berry concluded by saying that the negotiations with the Rams aligned with their expectations. And soon after, Garrett was ready to pack his bags to move from Cleveland to Los Angeles.

What are your thoughts on the trade?

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Written by

Naomi Grace

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi