The Cleveland Browns traded star edge rusher Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams for linebacker Jared Verse and three draft picks in a blockbuster deal on Monday.

Garrett, 30, is a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and seven-time Pro Bowl selection. Since the Browns selected him with the No 1 pick in the 2017 draft, he has emerged as one of the league’s best defensive players. He has the most sacks (125.5), pressures (413) and tackles for loss (149) of any player in that span. In 2025, he set the single-season sacks record with 23.

Garrett had requested a trade from the Browns in 2024 after they slumped to a 3-14 record, saying he wanted to play for a team with a realistic shot at a championship. A month later, he signed a four-year, $160m extension with the Browns that at the time made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history. That deal pays an average annual salary of $40m, $122.8m in guaranteed money and has a total value of $204.8m.

The Browns finished the 2025 season with a 5-12 record and missed the playoffs for the second straight year, with Garrett the lone player to earn All-Pro recognition. Kevin Stefanski was fired as coach in January and replaced by former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken.

Monken said last month he had not had a face-to-face meeting with Garrett since being hired.

General manager Andrew Berry was able to make a deal after the Browns and Garrett agreed to modify the contract and defer option payments over the 2026-28 seasons in March. The first payment of around $10m was due on 28 March, but was moved to near the start of the regular season.

Berry had long said that Garrett would play his entire career in Cleveland, but Garrett’s lingering frustrations over the franchise’s direction and the chance to start anew meant it was time to move on.

“As discussions intensified we were stuck at a legitimate crossroads: do we hold on to a truly generational player who has become the identity of our team, or do we make the difficult decision that we think is best for the organization over the long run?,” Berry said after the trade was announced.

The Browns received Verse, a 2027 first-round selection, a second-round pick in 2028 and a 2029 third-round selection in the trade.

The Rams, who lost to the eventual champion Seattle Seahawks in last season’s NFC championship game, are no strangers to big-swing trades. In 2021, they traded Jared Goff and acquired Matthew Stafford in a blockbuster quarterback swap with the Detroit Lions. Stafford then led LA to a Super Bowl victory in his first season. The Rams won that Super Bowl at their home SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California; Super Bowl LXI will also be played there next February.

Garrett’s addition marks the first time the reigning Associated Press NFL MVP and Defensive Player of the Year will be teammates. Stafford won his first MVP award last season.

Verse, 25, was a first-round draft pick by the Rams in 2024 and earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honors as a standout pass rusher. He was also selected to the Pro Bowl this past season, and has 12 career sacks to go with 22 tackles for loss.