Even in June, there’s hardly ever a slow day in the NFL. That became even more apparent on Monday, when the Los Angeles Rams acquired superstar pass rusher and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns in a blockbuster trade.
The deal sent shockwaves throughout the league, positioning the Rams to enter this summer as arguably the best team in the league.
Myles Garrett Wakes Up as a Brown, Ends the Day as a Ram
Garrett, 30, is the best player in the league at his position. He’s on the heels of setting the NFL’s single-season sack record with 23 last season; now he ventures to Los Angeles to bolster a defense that was on the doorstep of a Super Bowl in 2025.
In exchange for Garrett, the Browns received former first-round pass rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round selection, a 2028 second-round selection, and a 2029 third-round selection.
Players, both former and current, are all reacting to the groundbreaking news in real time. That includes Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner. “Can we start the season tomorrow???” Warner wrote in a post on X.
Wow!!!! Can we start the season tomorrow??? Who’s ready for some football???
— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) June 1, 2026
The Rams, as they’ve consistently shown through the years, are once again going all-in in their pursuit of a second Super Bowl under head coach Sean McVay. That’s something that J.J. Watt, a future Hall of Famer, can get behind. Watt is the older brother of T.J., who was often neck-and-neck with Garrett as the two best pass rushers in the league.
Love seeing teams go ALL in to win.
Rams pulling crazy moves!!
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) June 1, 2026
“Rams pulling crazy moves!!” he wrote on X.
Aaron Donald, one of the best defensive players of his generation, spent 10 years with the Rams. He retired after the 2023 season; the Rams have gone just two years without having a generational player on their defense, as former linebacker Emmanuel Acho pointed out on X.
“The Rams have now assembled (on paper) the best team in the NFL, and it’s not particularly close,” Acho said.
🚨 BREAKING NFL NEWS: The Browns just traded Myles Garrett (maybe the best pass rusher of the generation) to the Rams!
The Rams go from having one of the best defensive tackles of all time, Aaron Donald, to having one of the best defensive ends of all time.
The Rams have now… pic.twitter.com/hicvEhWV4y
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) June 1, 2026
Donald celebrated his 35th birthday last week. A return to the league to pair with Garrett feels unlikely, despite Kurt Benkert’s day-dreaming, but it’s fun to speculate.
“Who thinks Aaron Donald comes back for one more?”
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Former quarterback Chase Daniel believes that the Browns, who have now pocketed two first-round picks for 2027, are going to shoot for the stars and draft a new franchise quarterback. “Doing everything in their power to land Arch Manning or CJ Carr,” he said.
The Browns now have TWO 2027 First Round draft picks….
Doing everything in their power to land Arch Manning or CJ Carr https://t.co/swDh4Z6jta
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) June 1, 2026
Daniel mapped out the Rams’ highly productive offseason thus far. They landed a pair of cornerbacks in Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie, extended Matthew Stafford, drafted the likely heir apparent in Alabama’s Ty Simpson, and now, landed Garrett.
“Super Bowl favorites,” he wrote.
The Rams this offseason:
✅ Trade for Myles Garrett⁰✅ Land Trent McDuffie⁰✅ Add Jaylen Watson⁰✅ Extend Matthew Stafford⁰✅ Draft QB of the future: Ty Simpson
That’s about as aggressive an offseason as you can have….Super Bowl Favorites https://t.co/nDg0Ppxeih
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) June 1, 2026
Former running back Phillip Lindsay, like many, is cognizant of the Rams’ limited future with Stafford under center. They only have so much time left to maximize his remaining window, and the Rams are doing everything they can to make the best of it.
“What the RAMS just did….That’s going all IN!!” he wrote on X. “Being in the moment, and understanding your times limited with a QB like Matthew Stafford!”
Jamal Adams, a former first-round pick who transitioned between linebacker and safety during his time in the league, says that the NFC West has “never been no joke.”
Between the Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, and defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, that division is expected to be a bloodbath in 2026.
Garrett is playing on a four-year, $160 million extension that he signed in 2025. The pass rusher logged a 95.6 PFSN EDGE Impact Score last season en route to bagging his second Defensive Player of the Year award.
