00:00The Cleveland Browns have traded two-time NFL defensive player of the year Miles Garrett to
00:05the Los Angeles Rams for two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Jared Verse and multiple draft picks,
00:11the teams announced Monday. In one of the biggest defensive player trades in NFL history,
00:16the Browns got a first-round pick in 2027, a second-round pick in 2028, and a third-rounder
00:23in 2029. In a social media post, Garrett expressed gratitude to the Browns and their supporters,
00:29stating that the city of Cleveland had an impact on him and made me tougher and that the best days
00:35of this franchise were ahead. He wrote, loving you is easy. Leaving you is the hard part.
00:41The shocking trade is completely on brand for the Rams, who made a similarly seismic move in the
00:462021 offseason when they acquired quarterback Matthew Stafford in the season in which the
00:51Super Bowl was being played in Los Angeles before going on to win it. With Super Bowl 61 set to
00:57be
00:57played at SoFi Stadium this February, the Rams again are going all-in and living by their mantra.
01:03F. Them picks. While trying to repeat history. The Rams' interest in Garrett was sparked shortly
01:09after the Browns modified the contract of the seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end in March,
01:13pushing back the options bonuses from the 15th day of the league year in March to seven days,
01:19before the start of the regular season, making it easier to trade him.
01:22According to sources, the Browns insisted that they had no intention of trading Garrett
01:27and even informed the Rams of this.
01:30Editors' picks.
01:31Barnwell makes sense of the Miles-Garrett blockbuster.
01:35What the trade means for the Rams-Browns.
01:37Bill Barnwell.
01:39Comparing two significant NFL offseason deals.
01:42Who won the A.J. Brown?
01:44Deals with Miles Garrett?
01:45Seth Walder.
01:47Did the Browns and Rams-Miles-Garrett trade succeed?
01:50Providing responses to the most pressing inquiries, multiple contributors.
01:55However, despite what one source referred to as their persistent pursuit of Garrett,
02:00the Rams refused to give up.
02:03Los Angeles, according to sources, continued calling and calling,
02:07the only team that tried to pry loose a player the Browns once deemed untouchable.
02:12Shortly after the NFL draft this year, things really got heated.
02:16According to sources, Cleveland held firm to its public stance of not trading its defensive
02:21standout despite the Rams' initial offer of a package of picks in exchange for Garrett.
02:26The Browns told the Rams that no deal would get done without including the 25-year-old
02:30verse, the Rams' 2024 first-round pick, who has had 12 sacks and 22 tackles for loss the
02:37past two seasons.
02:38We met with Miles on Saturday and told him we are extremely grateful for all that he contributed
02:43to our team and to our community and that he will always be a Cleveland Brown.
02:48In a statement, Browns' owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said,
02:52We look forward to welcoming him back at the appropriate time and wish him and his family
02:58only the best.
02:59The Rams initially were not interested in moving verse, but eventually began to consider
03:04a package with him as long as the draft picks were adjusted appropriately, sources said.
03:09While the NFL World focused Monday on the expected A.J.
03:14Brown trade to New England, one that was finalized a few hours later.
03:18The Browns and Rams were putting together the parameters of one of the biggest defensive
03:22trades in NFL history, one that rivals or exceeds what the Green Bay Packers sent to the
03:28Dallas Cowboys last summer for Micah Parsons.
03:31Verse, a younger, cheaper player who is not eligible for a contract extension until after
03:36the season, came with a significant draft pick compensation for the Browns.
03:40Although they are fully prepared to pay Verse when the time is right, the Browns have privately
03:45estimated that this trade will likely save them $30 million in cash.
03:50The trade also marks a homecoming for Verse, who was born in Dayton, Ohio.
03:54Since being selected in the 2017 draft, Miles Garrett, Miles Garrett has been among the best
04:00defensive players in the NFL since being drafted in 2017.
04:05NFL Rank
04:06First, Saks 125.5 presses, 413 first.
04:12239th run by QBTFL 149 first.
04:17FF 23 third.
04:18ESPN Studies, we recognize the unexpected nature of this trade, but it opens up great
04:24opportunities for our franchise, Browns general manager Andrew Barry said in a statement.
04:29We are excited to welcome Jared into the organization, along with the cap flexibility
04:34and resources from draft picks that we can deploy to the rest of the roster, which will
04:38allow us to add to our budding core on both sides of the ball, the team said.
04:42For the second year in a row, the Browns will have two first-round picks, and they currently
04:47are scheduled to have 11 picks in the 2027 draft, including three fourth-round picks, two fifth-round
04:54picks, and two seventh-round picks.
04:56They will be armed to move around the draft board if there's a player they deem worth
05:00acquiring.
05:01Garrett, 30, is coming off a season in which he is regarded as the best defensive player
05:06in football and set the NFL's all-time single-season sack record.
05:10He also is under contract through the 2030 season, at a time when the Rams were grappling with which
05:16of their own defensive standouts to pay.
05:18The Rams were aware that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to pay all three of Los
05:24Angeles' young standouts, Byron Young, Kobe Turner, and Verse.
05:28All three of them are deserving of substantial contract extensions.
05:32Now they are expected to have Garrett under contract for the four-year, $160 million extension
05:38he signed last offseason that included a no-trade clause he now is waiving for this trade,
05:43but he also will have in his Rams contract.
05:46At a time when he is saying goodbye to Cleveland, Garrett is likely to fly to Los Angeles on
05:51Tuesday night to get used to his new city and team.
05:54During an offseason in which he spent time in Korea and Japan, Garrett was in regular
05:59contact with the Browns and was kept abreast of their free agent moves and draft picks,
06:04according to sources.
06:05But he also did not participate in their offseason program and did not have any face-to-face interactions
06:12with new Browns head coach Todd Monken.
06:14Some across the league wondered how the Browns would handle it, especially a year after Garrett
06:19requested a trade.
06:20Players moved teams after receiving a DPOI nomination.
06:24According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the third time any player won NFL Defensive Player
06:31of the Year and then changed teams the next season.
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