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00:00Ah, yes, the biggest blockbuster trade and the biggest surprise of the NFL offseason
00:05went down yesterday with the Rams getting the two-time Defensive Player of the Year,
00:11the single-season sack king, Miles Garrett. Unbelievable for Jared Verse, a first-rounder,
00:21a second-rounder, and a third-rounder. This is vintage L.A. Rams. The L.A. Rams, on June 1st,
00:332026, won the Super Bowl that will be played on Valentine's Day in 2027. The L.A. Rams were
00:42already the Super Bowl favorites. The L.A. Rams are absolutely miles and miles and miles ahead of
00:49the competition after getting Miles Garrett. Miles Garrett is the best defensive player in the
00:54NFL. You can make a very strong and intelligent case that if you were doing a ranking right now
01:02as we speak of best players in the NFL regardless of position, Miles Garrett is the single best player
01:10in the entire league. Look at this resume. We are talking about a ball player who, if he doesn't
01:17play another down, is already a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Seven-time All-Pro, two-time NFL Defensive
01:25Player of the Year. He set the single-season sack record just last season. And I love that last note.
01:32Most consecutive seasons with 12 or more sacks, this guy is an absolute machine. And think about it.
01:37He did all that for Cleveland, a Browns team that was trailing consistently in games. Now,
01:46Miles Garrett, the ability to pin his ears back and rush the quarterback with a lead playing for the
01:53Rams, this is dreamy. And this is less need personified. When it's F them picks and for the
02:00sake of conversation, F Jared Verse, I feel bad saying that. I think Jared Verse is a good, solid,
02:06young ball player. But he's obviously expendable. Les Snead, this is what he does. The Rams organization,
02:13in my opinion, when you look at Stan Kroenke, the owner, Sean McVay, the coach, Les Snead,
02:18Kevin Demoff, I would make the case this is the best organization in the big four of professional
02:24sports in North America. This organization understands you have to be dominant. You have
02:31to be relevant in the L.A. market. You have to give your fans in Los Angeles, California,
02:37fighting for the sports and entertainment dollar, the ability to believe that you have a chance to
02:42win the Super Bowl realistically year after year. And I firmly believe that adding someone like
02:49Miles Garrett makes the Rams the inevitable Super Bowl champs. I think that when you look at this
02:55offseason for Los Angeles, all the players they acquired, starting with the McDuffie acquisition,
03:01which I was absolutely mesmerized by, this is how you become a sensational difference-making
03:10ball club. Look, think about Championship Sunday last year. Jackson Smith and Jigba still running.
03:18See a problem, fix a problem. Here's Trent McDuffie, one of the three best quarters in the entire
03:24league. They're bringing Watson as well. The Miles Garrett trade on the 1st of June, absolutely
03:30incredible. You look at the roster, you have Matthew Stafford, who is the MVP. You bring in someone
03:38like Devontae Adams a couple of years ago now, and you look at Adams, this will be his second
03:44season in the offense, and he's outstanding. You have Puka Nakua, who's one of the handful
03:50of best wide receivers. You have a really strong offensive line. You have three tight ends that
03:55Sean McVay loves. I had him on my SiriusXM radio show. He's raving about the tight end room. I mean,
04:01you have arguably, outside of Cincinnati, the number one wide receiver combo in the league. Sean
04:08McVay is one of the best in the business. He's carved out a Hall of Fame career. You take a
04:13look
04:13at the young studs on the defensive line. And Sean McVay knows how to keep his team motivated
04:19and make sure they don't take the cheese and be in the favorite in Vegas. This is just soul-sucking
04:26if you're a fan of the 49ers or the Seattle Seahawks. It's demoralizing if you root for anybody
04:31else. And this really makes you appreciate and understands why this organization, the best
04:39in North American sports, picked Ty Simpson in the first round. And again, I would have picked
04:45Makai Lemon. I'm on record saying it. But now you can see the method to the madness here
04:50with regards to Ty Simpson. Because the Rams are going to be excellent this year, Super Bowl
04:57favorite. And Matthew Stafford, who I love and has plenty of gas left in the tank, and
05:01he's a Hall of Famer, just won the MVP. And that combination with Niku and Adams is unbelievable.
05:06But, you know, it was just last August where Matthew Stafford had a back injury. And if the
05:11Rams are drafting consistently at the bottom of the draft, now they have not only insurance
05:16if something happens to Stafford, but the eventual heir apparent and replacement. And if you're
05:22drafting at the bottom, it's very difficult to find that guy. You don't believe me? Go
05:26ask the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are still trying to find their quarterback of the future
05:31after Ben Roethlisberger. So if I told you before the offseason that you were going to see the
05:38L.A. Rams, that they were going to get the best defensive player in the sport, they were going
05:44to find the ability to get a top three corner and depth at the cornerback position and find
05:51a way to somehow get their future franchise quarterback. I mean, this, this is absolutely
05:56unbelievable. So I think this is just sensational. And we might have even more because of this.
06:05And normally when I see Aaron Donald's working out, I sit here and I say, no, there's no way Aaron
06:14Donald's coming back. There's no way that could happen. But I've heard enough in terms of the
06:21whispers and the whispers are in unison where they're so loud. It starts to feel like a shout.
06:28And here's the deal when it comes to Aaron Donald. I just think, and I've made this case,
06:36Aaron Donald didn't have to retire, right? Aaron Donald retired because he wanted to leave on his
06:41terms. I don't believe that he was actually fully done, young family at the time. And I think that
06:47he did it for the right reasons. I've made the goat case for Aaron Donald that he's the best defensive
06:54player in the history of the National Football League. And, you know, you could argue Lawrence
06:59Taylor, among others, obviously. But I really think it's Aaron Donald. If he comes back and he's
07:07playing on the same defensive line as Miles Garrett and he could win another Super Bowl. And the last
07:15time there was an L.A. Super Bowl, you saw the Rams go all in and get Matthew Stafford. Now
07:20they go all
07:21in and get Miles Garrett. Maybe Aaron Donald comes back. Man, this is, if you're a Rams fan, why you
07:28love
07:28sports. This team is unbelievable. This organization is unbelievable. And we could fight in terms of best
07:35organization in sports. Frankly, I think the team and the organization and the big four North American
07:41sports that would have the biggest argument would be the Dodgers. Let's be clear about that. They're both in the
07:46same city and both in Southern California. You know, frankly, I think it's more difficult in football to do what
07:52the
07:53Rams are doing. Compare and contrast to the Dodgers. I would put the Dodgers number two on my hypothetical list.
07:58This is
07:59unbelievable. The fact that the Rams shocked the world. And on June 1st, won the Super Bowl by trading for
08:07Miles Garrett and they
08:08have the right coach to keep the train on the tracks in terms of the mentality. Man, if you're a
08:13Rams fan, this is Christmas in
08:16June. Joining me right now to help break down how this trade came together and what it means for the
08:22Rams. We're
08:23going to host the Super Bowl, of course, in their home stadium on Valentine's Day in 2027. California Post lead
08:29Rams
08:29reporter, NFL columnist, my guy, Vincent Bonsignore. Vin, welcome back to the show, my friend. How are you?
08:37I'm doing great. Thanks for having me. And I have a feeling that there's going to be a lot of
08:41hearts
08:41a fluttered come Valentine's Day next February in Los Angeles for the Super Bowl. So a long way to go
08:48before then. But I think the Rams made some moves this offseason that absolutely puts them in the
08:54driver's seat. Absolutely. Let's hit on it because I don't think it's hyperbole to say this is one of
09:01the biggest blockbusters in NFL history. The best team in the NFL just traded for the best defensive
09:07player in the league and maybe pound for pound, Vin, the best player in the NFL. Take us through how
09:15this
09:15deal got done. Well, you know, Sean McVay kind of hinted at something along these lines when I had a
09:22conversation with him at the NFL owners meetings. And the one thing that he stressed to me was that
09:27what he felt the difference between the Rams and the Seahawks last year were defensive closers. He just
09:32didn't have the type of closers that you need. And I obviously you get a little bit spoiled having a
09:38front row seat watching Aaron Donald for all those years. Closing games, the NFC Championship game,
09:43the Super Bowl, other games as well. His closer offensively, obviously, is Matthew Stafford, but
09:49he felt that he lacked defensive closers. So I kind of had an inkling that they were going to that
09:55they
09:55made that a priority and they were going to do what they could to go get a player of that
10:00ilk. And
10:00there's nobody better, quite honestly, than than than Miles Garrett. He's the ultimate closer.
10:05You know, he's going to make plays throughout the course of the game that could tilt the field
10:08in the Rams directions. But when it when it gets right down to it, those critical plays that they
10:13weren't able to make to get the Seahawks off the field and that late season loss that they had.
10:18And then obviously in the NFC Championship game, now they feel like they don't like not just one
10:22Miles Garrett, but Trent McDuffie as well, making plays on the back end and that alongside everything else
10:28that they have on their defense, which is, oh, by the way, pretty darn good in and of itself,
10:33will will create that kind of closer mentality that that he felt that Sean McVay felt they
10:38lacked last year. McDuffie is a prime example of see a problem, fix a problem. Garrett to me,
10:44Vin is is fantasy land. I mean, it's it's unbelievable. Now we could talk about, you know,
10:51the restructuring of his deal. We could talk about how aggressive less need is constantly calling
10:57the Browns and making it the priority to get that ultimate closer. As you said, when did the Rams
11:03or the people you've talked to inside that organization, when did they feel confident
11:08that they could make this kind of deal? And were they reluctant to give up someone like
11:13verse who I know Sean McVay really likes? Yeah, I mean, reluctant in the sense you don't want
11:20to do it. But obviously to get a guy like Miles Garrett, it was it was something that they knew
11:25that they were going to have to do a player that good. And obviously, you know, he plays his
11:30position. So it works from the Cleveland Browns perspective and really from the from the Rams
11:33perspective. I don't know that there was always or when it came about where they were completely
11:39confident that this was going to happen. But it's interesting. A couple of things that you said
11:43that I that I completely agree with. Number number one, the Ty Simpson part of this was huge.
11:48You know, the Rams think about what it took the Rams to trade up to go get Jared Goff multiple
11:55first
11:56round picks, second round picks, you know, they gave up future drafts, basically, or the top of
11:59future drafts. And think about what it took to go get Matthew Stafford, multiple first round picks
12:05hundreds of millions of dollars plus Jared Goff in Ty Simpson, who they evaluated and felt like
12:11is a capable replacement and a guy that they could build championship teams around getting getting him
12:16at number 13, that allowed them to use all the other assets for other areas in the in the on
12:22the
12:22roster, rather than saving them to potentially have to trade back up in the first round to go get the
12:27next Jared Goff, or go trade for the next Matthew Stafford. So they got that part of it solved, which
12:32freed up all those assets that you just saw them give up to go get the best defensive player on
12:37the
12:37planet. And the other part of that is, you mentioned the restructure of Miles Gareth's contract. So he's
12:43owed $99 million over the next three years. That's about $33 million a year. From the Rams perspective,
12:48that's a bit of a bargain when you consider Mike Parsons is going to make $120 million over that same
12:54time period. And they also understood the type of player that Jared Burst is where the market's going
12:59at that position, that $40 million a year is coming down the pike for a guy like for him. So
13:07you know,
13:08they ended up not that they saved money necessarily, but they were able to get Miles
13:12Garrett at a relative bargain compared to Micah Parsons and compared to what it's going to cost
13:18somebody, whether it's the Browns or somebody else to sign Jared Burst. I think that is brilliant
13:23take. And I think you're 100% spot on. And, you know, I look at this and, you know, the
13:29Rams made
13:30the Super Bowl favorite and they were before the deal, then, you know, that division is tough.
13:34And I think it's important here, right? Because there's going to be, and we saw this last year.
13:39I mean, the Rams, you know, started out on the road when they blew those games during the regular
13:43season. They started their postseason in Carolina. That mattered. You look at what happened on
13:48Championship Sunday, playing in Seattle, that mattered. So I'm not going to hold you to this
13:53because third place is a tough one. But how do you stockpile right now, one, two, and three
13:59in the NFC West? Because, boy, if I'm a 49ers fan, this is a crushing blow when I see Miles
14:08Garrett
14:08going to the L.A. Rams.
14:10Yeah. I mean, both for the 49ers and Seattle to have to face him twice a year now, that's
14:16bone crushing, as you said. You know, I just wrote a column about the San Francisco 49ers
14:20who this time last year were facing a rebuild. And there weren't a whole lot of people talking
14:25about the playoffs or Super Bowls in San Francisco. It was almost a reset in a lot of ways. Well,
14:29they feel they're way ahead of the schedule, winning 12 games despite losing 17 players to
14:34free agency trades, you know, having to reluctantly release some guys in contract moves. And then
14:40on top of that, all the injuries that they suffered, their quarterback was limited to basically
14:44half of a season. Nick Bosa missed all of the season. Fred Warner, George Kittle missed
14:49a lot of games. So they feel like that window that everyone thought was going to get shut
14:53last year for a little bit is back wide open. The Seattle Seahawks, to me, lost players that
15:00were pretty big parts of their whole deal. And, you know, I think someday there's going
15:07to be a movie about Sam Darnold and the resurgence that he had in his career. But I, like probably
15:12a lot of people, always figure that it just feels like the other shoes sometimes might fall.
15:17So I got to see it again with Sam Darnold. Not taking anything away from him. I think it's
15:22a fabulous story and I would not be surprised if he had an even better year next year. But
15:26if I were to sit here today after what the Rams did and where the 49ers getting back healthy,
15:34getting Nick Bosa back, getting, you know, their quarterback back for a full season, I
15:38feel that's the one and two. As crazy as that might be to say, considering we're talking
15:43about the defending Super Bowl champions in the Seattle Seahawks, but this is such a vicious
15:47division that it's not, you know, it's not out of the realm that your Super Bowl champion
15:53is going to be the third place team in the NFC West and not be a bad team by any
15:58stretch
15:58of the imagination. Here's the other part of it. All three teams can be better, but their
16:04records might not be the same simply because they have to play A, such difficult schedules
16:09in their own division. But also if you look at the Rams schedule, it's pretty daunting, especially
16:15post their, their, their bye week, which is later on in the season. So these teams might
16:19be better. It might not show it necessarily in the, in the record, but it's all about
16:22the playoffs for all three of them. A hundred percent. And I agree with you. And again, we'll
16:26lock in our picks after Labor Day. We still have time, but I'm with you and how we're going
16:29to stack the, the top of the NFC West. Vin final one for you. What are you hearing with
16:36regards to Aaron Donald? Is there a chance? He says, you know what? I want back in and he
16:43comes out of retirement and rejoins the Rams. Man, that would be fantasy land without question.
16:50I I'm probably leaning toward no. And it was a firm no for me all the way up until.
16:56Obviously yesterday, because now I'm wondering, does that make him rethink it a little bit?
17:00I know he's really happy in retirement. And the thing about Aaron Donald is that he was
17:05such a grinder. And I mean, what he had to put into it to get out what he ended up
17:11getting
17:11out of himself was an incredible amount of dedication, work ethic, all of that. I don't
17:17know if he wants to necessarily revisit this, that because he knows, and I know him and I
17:21know he's going to have to maybe even increase that just to make up for the lost time and
17:26to get back where he was. That's a lot of hard work. And not that he's not up for it
17:30necessarily,
17:31but doesn't really want to go through that. However, I have to say there is a little bit
17:35of a glimmer of me that that says now that they do have Miles Garrett, boy, does that
17:41does that light the fire a little bit for him to say, Hey, you know what? I know it's
17:44going to be tough. I know it's going to be a life changing type of a thing again and have
17:48to get back into that hardcore routine that that that he lives by. But maybe that is enough
17:53of a motivation to to do just that. And that would be just spectacular for the Rams. Obviously,
17:59then you're the best. We appreciate the time. As always, we will keep reading you, of course,
18:03in the California post and we'll do it again real soon. Thank you and have a great show.
18:07You're the best. Yeah, I appreciate it.
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