The NFL world was shaken to its core on Monday when the Los Angeles Rams acquired All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett in a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Browns.
Garrett didn’t come cheap, as the Rams gave up a 2027 first-round pick, Pro Bowl edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2028 second-round pick, and 2029 third-round pick to acquire him. However, with Garrett having broken the NFL’s single-season sack record last year, a strong argument could be made that he’s not just the best defensive player in football, but the best player in the game, period.
The Rams are no stranger to blockbuster trades under general manager Les Snead, and this becomes one of their biggest to date. In the wake of this news, let’s break down the winners and losers of the stunning Garrett trade.
Winner: Myles Garrett
If Garrett retired today, he would be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He was the face of the Browns for nine seasons, having appeared in seven Pro Bowls, earning five first-team All-Pro selections, and winning Defensive Player of the Year honors in two of the last three years. Oh, and he now holds the NFL record for the most sacks in a single season.
Despite all of this success, Garrett has only played in three playoff games in his career. Similar to what Joe Thomas went through during his legendary stint in Cleveland, the Browns just simply couldn’t field a competitive team often enough for sustained success. For one of the most prolific defensive players of the 21st century to have such a limited playoff resume was simply unfortunate.
That won’t be the case now that Garrett is on the Rams. Los Angeles has made the playoffs in seven of the nine seasons that Sean McVay has been their head coach. They’ve won a Super Bowl, appeared in another, and have won at least one playoff game in five of those seasons. Simply put: McVay and Snead have built this team into a sustainable juggernaut.
The Rams were just four points away from another Super Bowl appearance last year, losing to the eventual-champion Seattle Seahawks 31-27 in the NFC Championship. They already have the reigning MVP in Matthew Stafford, as well as one of the best rosters and coaching staffs in the NFL. Now, they have the best edge rusher in the NFL in Garrett.
Garrett will have the chance to rush alongside players like Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Braden Fiske, and Poona Ford on the Rams’ defensive line. Though opposing offensive lines will still key on him the most, having that much talent alongside him is bound to create more opportunities for big plays from time to time.
It’s also worth noting that Garrett broke the single-season sack record on a bad Browns team that went 5-12. Now that he’s playing on a Rams team that will likely have the lead more often than not, he should face a higher concentration of passing-down snaps in 2026. That’s a scary thought when previewing someone who just had 23.0 sacks last year.
For the first time in his NFL career, we’re likely to see Garrett become a much more proven commodity in the postseason. Having the chance to play more meaningful games on a loaded team should only further cement his legacy as one of the all-time greats. After a stellar tenure with the Browns, Los Angeles was the best-case scenario for him in a trade.
Loser: Jared Verse
Though Garrett is obviously an upgrade for the Rams’ defensive line, they’re still losing a talented, ascending edge rusher in Verse. Acquiring him in the deal is a big win for the Browns, but Verse’s new landing spot is a considerable step down from where he was before.
The Browns have gone a combined 8-26 over the last two seasons, and they’re in the midst of a quarterback battle between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson. Sanders ranked No. 40 among 42 qualified NFL quarterbacks in PFSN’s QB Impact Scoring last year, and Watson’s 2024 season (his last as a starter) ranked No. 348 among 352 quarterbacks within the last decade.
With seemingly no viable quarterback option on the roster and a young team that’s still two or three years away from playing meaningful football, Verse went from a bona fide Super Bowl contender to one of the worst teams in the NFL. He should still put up Pro Bowl-caliber numbers, and he’ll have 2025 first-round defensive tackle Mason Graham to pair up with along the defensive line, but that’s a jarring environmental change.
Cleveland’s future might be bright, but the short-term outlook as a rebuilding team is bleak. Verse will have to sit through some brutal seasons early on in his tenure with the Browns.
Winner: Rams and Browns
Though PFSN’s NFL Trade Machine significantly values the Rams’ acquisition of Garrett over what the Browns got in return, I’d argue this is a trade that works out very well for both sides.
The impact for the Rams is obvious. They were aggressive in fixing their weaknesses at cornerback, trading for Trent McDuffie and signing Jaylen Watson earlier in the offseason. They were the only team in the NFL with a top-five grade in both Offense Impact Score and Defense Impact Score in 2025, and they now add the reigning Defensive Player of the Year to their roster. That makes for a difficult team to stop in the postseason.
That said, the Browns were smart to finally part with Garrett. Though he’s obviously a gifted football player, Cleveland isn’t nearly close enough to putting an end to their rebuild and getting back into playoff contention. By the time they’ll be near the top of the AFC North, Garrett will be well into his 30s and likely on the decline.
MORE: 2026 NFL Power Rankings: Do Rams Move to No. 1 After Myles Garrett Trade?
Instead of holding onto him, Cleveland wisely sold on Garrett when his stock was at its highest. The long-term financial flexibility, the additional draft capital, and the addition of Verse as a cornerstone for the future gives the Browns a lot to look forward to in a few years, which is what the organization should be prioritizing above immediate success.
The Browns aggressively overhauled their offense with free agent signings along their offensive line, as well as the draft picks of Spencer Fano, KC Concepcion, and Denzel Boston. Verse joins a defense with talented young pieces like Graham, Carson Schwesinger, and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. It might take time for them to get going, but Cleveland is using the Garrett trade to build a sustainable future for the franchise.
Loser: Seattle Seahawks
Coming off a Super Bowl win, the Seahawks are riding high going into the 2026 regular season. In the general sense, nobody would consider them “losers” of any kind, seeing as though they just won a ring. That said, their path towards repeating just got a lot more difficult.
The Seahawks face the Rams twice a year, so any time a divisional rival improves their roster, it’s nothing to celebrate. But with both teams well positioned to make deep playoff runs in 2026 like they each did last season, there’s a very real chance they face off in the postseason, too.
With how impactful Garrett has been over the years, one could argue this move alone could help get the Rams the extra win or two they’d need to win the NFC West and secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Last year, the Seahawks had the privilege of home-field advantage as the No. 1 seed in the NFC. If the Rams win the division, Seattle’s playoff journey becomes a lot tougher.
Again, the Seahawks are still an incredibly talented team, and they should still feel good about their Super Bowl chances in 2026 with most of their core still in tact. That said, Los Angeles became a more dangerous team by trading for Garrett, and as the team that’s likely Seattle’s toughest competition in the NFC, that doesn’t bode well for the Seahawks.
Winner: Matthew Stafford
Stafford is under contract with the Rams for two more seasons. The duration of his time with the team will determine Los Angeles’ Super Bowl window. Their best chance at winning their second Super Bowl ring with Stafford at quarterback was always going to be in 2026, right before the expiring contracts of players like Puka Nacua, Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Kevin Dotson, Steve Avila, and Coleman Shelton.
After trading for Garrett, one could argue the Rams are as stacked as ever. As pointed out by Adam Grosbard of Los Angeles Daily News, this year marks the first time in NFL history that the reigning MVP and reigning Defensive Player of the Year will be on the same roster. That’s not even including their first-team All-Pro receiver Nacua and the countless other high-level contributors they have on both sides of the ball.
Stafford is 38 years old, so even though he’s coming off an MVP season, there’s still much more football behind him than ahead of him. If there’s any time for Los Angeles to put all their chips on the table, it’s now. It would be a disappointment for them to come away from the final stretch of Stafford’s NFL career without another ring, considering how talented their roster is.
It’s clear that Snead is making an all-in push to give the Rams another Super Bowl victory, future be damned. Garrett is a blue-chip player and a true generational talent in a sport where “generational” gets thrown around way too often.
Stafford is already in the top 10 in NFL history in passing yards and passing touchdowns. He already has an MVP and a Super Bowl victory to his name. He’ll end up in the Hall of Fame one day, but if he can win one more ring with this loaded Rams roster, there will be no denying his status as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
