The Los Angeles Rams swinging a trade for star Myles Garrett was a surprise for the entire football world on Monday, with the Cleveland Browns shipping away their best player. The trade suddenly puts more pressure on one former UCLA Bruin to step up as a leader for the Browns’ defense.
Linebacker Carson Schwesinger is fresh off of a Defensive Rookie of the Year award, which he won while playing behind Garrett in the Browns defense. Now Schwesinger will have to make due without the NFL’s best defender drawing the focus of opposing offenses.
The Browns allowed the fourth-fewest yards per game last season at just 283.6 per game but that was with Garrett setting a new NFL sack record with 23. Garrett brought home the Defensive Player of the Year award for his record-setting performance while Schwesinger brought home DROY. It was a luxury for Garrett to have a sure-handed tackler like Schwesinger behind him, with the former Bruin making 156 total tackles with 2.5 sacks and two interceptions.
Cleveland acquired defensive end Jared Verse back from the Rams in the trade, and while Verse is a quality player, he’s not the game-wrecker that Garrett is. With Garrett gone to Los Angeles, Schwesinger will have to step up as a leader along with Verse, Mason Graham, Maliek Collins and Denzel Ward.
The trade is also an indictment of where the Browns see themselves. The team is still saddled with the Deshaun Watson contract and are undergoing yet another rebuild, despite having last made the playoffs in 2023.
We’ll see if the Browns will be able to build a winner without Garrett, or if the cycle continues and it’ll be Schwesinger getting shipped out in a couple of seasons.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Carson Schwesinger will have to step up following Myles Garrett trade
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
