Myles Garrett is one of the most feared pass rushers in the history of the NFL. The five-time first-team All-Pro defensive end has dominated the AFC North for the entirety of his nine-year NFL career, but has recently changed teams for the first time in his NFL career.
Garrett’s trade raised the Super Bowl odds in favor of the Los Angeles Rams, but it also gave the entire AFC North a huge sigh of relief, as they no longer have to game plan for the game wrecker twice a year.
Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor Relieved to See Myles Garrett Leave the AFC North
Zac Taylor, the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, is one of many in the AFC North who are happy to see Garrett go to the opposite conference. Taylor was asked if he was happy about it on “The Rich Eisen Show.”
“Yes, I am, and they [Cleveland Browns] added a great one in Jared Verse. I know that he brings a lot of problems,” Taylor said.
“Myles Garrett is, you know, the most dominant player in the NFL, and so we’ve seen enough of him over the years, and so now he’s out in LA, and so we don’t have to deal with that anymore,” the Bengals head coach added.
Garrett ranked No. 1 in PFSN’s EDGE Impact Metric (EDGEi) in 2025, en route to winning the Defensive Player of the Year award. The dynamic pass rusher broke the NFL single-season sack record with 23, while also registering 60 tackles (43 solo, 17 assists), three forced fumbles, and a league-leading 33 tackles for loss.
In nine seasons in Cleveland, the former first overall pick had seven Pro Bowl selections and won two Defensive Player of the Year awards while racking up 125.5 sacks and 149 tackles for loss.
“We were in practice when we heard that,” Taylor said about when he learned about Garrett’s trade. “A couple smiles, you know, because he’s caused us a lot of problems over the seven years that I’ve been here.”
However, despite losing Garrett, Taylor acknowledged that they still have plenty to worry about with Cleveland, because they got a great player back in return.
“I do have a ton of respect for Jared Verse through the draft process and watching him from afar, and I know that they got a really good young player and he’ll pose a lot of problems as well,” Taylor added.
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Verse ranked No. 13 in EDGEi in 2025, and his best days are likely still ahead of him. The 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year has made the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons, racking up 12 sacks and 22 tackles for loss, and he doesn’t turn 26 until November.
In addition to Verse, Cleveland acquired a first-round draft pick in 2027, a second-round pick in 2028, and a third-round pick in 2029. The Browns insist they were not looking to trade Garrett, but that the return was simply too good to pass on.
Cleveland was likely looking towards a rebuilding year anyway and has now fully committed to that, adding another talented young player to their roster, which aligns more with their timeline, as well as more draft capital to help add talent over the next few years.
Meanwhile, the rest of the AFC North rejoices as the Bengals, Ravens, and Steelers will not be forced to stop the game wrecker twice in pivotal divisional games this year, which could impact their playoff hopes.
As for the Rams, they hope that Garrett is the final piece of the puzzle and, alongside the newly acquired Trent McDuffie, can help put them over the top and win their second Super Bowl in the Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford era.
After his trade, Garrett also signed a restructured five-year, $208.2 million contract with the Rams, keeping him under contract with them until 2031.
