This should go without saying, but every team in the NFL should be interested in Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett if he were actually available for a trade.
The Browns reportedly aren’t open to moving the two-time Defensive Player of the Year despite reworking his contract to make a trade more feasible, but that shouldn’t stop teams from inquiring.
Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr listed out the top 12 teams that would be interested in acquiring Garrett, which included the Los Angeles Rams. The reasons are obvious: L.A. is in the midst of an all-in season and would benefit from adding Garrett to their stout defensive front, they have the assets to facilitate a trade, and organization has never shied away from blockbuster moves that sacrifice long-term potential for short-term gain.
The Rams are another team that could be impacted by the ability to trade future capital, given the coming end of the Matt Stafford era. The Rams are in a divisional arms race alongside the Seahawks and 49ers and their post-Stafford draft capital could be a curiosity to the Browns as a potential undervalued asset (Sean McVay will never be bad enough with Stafford to qualify for a top-10 quarterback and shows no interest in starting over with one anyway, leaving him dependent in the post-Stafford era on an increasingly less appetizing group of veteran reclamation projects). The Rams traded their own first-round pick to the Chiefs, but they still have a 2026 pick from the Falcons situated at No. 13. The Rams were so painfully close to a second Super Bowl under McVay last season and seem to be a team on the edge of massive sea change, both in terms of Stafford and the age of his surrounding skill-position players, and the looming potential combustibility of the Puka Nacua era.
The No. 13 pick is arguably their best trade chip since they should be picking later in the first round in subsequent drafts, but the Rams also have some young player pieces they could move, like edge rusher Byron Young.
If this trade sounds unfounded, remember that the Rams were one of the top teams “keeping tabs” on Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby before he was dealt to the Baltimore Ravens. While that trade was rescinded and no new trade has materialized for Crosby, the fact that L.A. even looked into the idea speaks volumes to what they’ve thought about this offseason.
Garrett appears to be off-limits right now, but that shouldn’t stop Les Snead and McVay from reaching out to the Browns to see what is possible.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Analyst explains why a Rams-Myles Garrett trade would make sense
Reporting by Oliver G., Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
