The Cleveland Browns received an offer that general manager Andrew Berry clearly felt he couldn’t refuse before he traded star pass-rusher Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams for edge-rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round draft pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round selection.
During a Tuesday appearance on Cleveland sports radio station 92.3 The Fan, well-known NFL analyst Brian Baldinger suggested that the Rams walked away as the early winners of that transaction.
Browns “didn’t get enough” back for Myles Garrett?
“I wouldn’t have traded him,” Baldinger said about Garrett. “He was under contract. He’s coming off his best season ever. I like Jared Verse, the player. I just don’t think they got enough for Myles Garrett.”
Garrett signed a four-year, $160M contract extension that included $123.5M guaranteed last offseason, and he reportedly was planning on showing up for the start of the Browns’ mandatory minicamp on Tuesday before he was traded. Despite what was previously rumored, it now seems that neither the Philadelphia Eagles nor the Dallas Cowboys came close to acquiring Garrett this offseason.
That said, NFL insider Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom US hinted that the Washington Commanders, Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers were among teams “monitoring the Garrett situation.” Such a line could lead one to believe Berry could have sparked a bidding war for Garrett’s services, even though the 30-year-old ultimately had to waive the no-trade clause attached to his contract for the Rams-Browns deal to become official.
Presumably, Garrett would have been willing to join any advertised championship contender ahead of the 2026 season.
Does history show Browns settled too early in Myles Garrett trade?
“We’ve seen receivers [get traded for] two first-round picks and more,” Baldinger continued, “and [Garrett] is way better than any receiver that’s ever been traded. …Just go through the list of guys that have been traded for first-round picks. I didn’t think [the Browns] got enough. So, whatever Andrew Berry was looking for, or whatever the Browns were looking for, I would have thought they could have done better than what they did.”
As ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi mentioned, the Browns are hyped about what Verse could become for the club over the next handful of seasons. That’s all well and good, but one can only guess what other teams would have given the Browns for Garrett had Berry waited until the league’s summer break to finalize a blockbuster trade.