“We have long taken the stance that our goal was for Myles Garrett to be a one-helmet player for his entire career,” Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Andrew Berry said in a statement. “After rewriting the record books and representing our organization with excellence, we were sincere in that desire as we entered this offseason and did not envision a world where Myles was not a Cleveland Brown.
“When the Rams first approached us with the possibility of trading Myles, we remained convicted in our position, but 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?
“In that framework, the decision became clear, although our emotions were muddled. We, and more importantly, our fans, have grown up with Myles, and he’s an enormous source of pride for our team. However, as we embark on a new era of Browns football with a young core and a replenished asset base, we felt this move was important to our transition.
“Chief among the considerations to make the decision was the inclusion of Jared Verse – a player our fan base will love. At 25 years old with two Pro Bowls and a Defensive Rookie of the Year award under his belt, we receive a young, elite player at a premium position who will only continue to improve in his third NFL season. Jared’s passion and relentless style of play will be embraced by our fans. He will fit right in with the established identity of our defense. We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome him to the Dawg Pound!
“We recognize the unexpected nature of this trade, but it opens up great opportunities for our franchise. We are excited to welcome Jared into the organization, along with the cap flexibility and draft pick resources to deploy to the rest of the roster that will allow us to add to our budding core on both sides of the ball.”
Verse was originally drafted by the Rams as the 19th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and quickly established himself as having a dominant defensive presence. Verse was selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons and was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2024.
He has appeared in 34 career games in his first two seasons, and has recorded 124 tackles, 22 tackles for a loss, 12 sacks, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He has also blocked one field goal with a return for a touchdown. Verse has appeared in five career postseason games and recorded 13 tackles, six tackles for a loss, three sacks and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. In Week 17 in 2025, Verse became the fourth-fastest player to reach 150 career pressures (33 games) and the fastest in Rams history. Verse joined QB Drake Maye and TE Brock Bowers as the only rookies from 2024 to make the Pro Bowl in each of their first two seasons.
