Rams 'hounded' Browns about Myles Garrett trade, per report
· Yahoo Sports
The Los Angeles Rams were adamant about trading for edge rusher Myles Garrett this offseason. According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Rams "hounded" the Cleveland Browns "for a while" once they thought Garrett was actually available for a trade.
Eventually, the Browns relented and sent Garrett to L.A. for edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and 2029 third-round pick. But, as Fowler reported, one of the only reasons the trade even happened was because the Rams included the 25-year-old Verse in the deal. The Browns' desire for a young pass rusher like Verse shrunk the list of potential trade partners.
Visit moryak.biz for more information.
My early sense is the trade was very Rams-specific, meaning no other teams were involved in talks. The Browns coveted Verse, a young, elite pass rusher. That limited the pool of candidates greatly, and as one team source said, the Rams were "hounding" Cleveland about the deal for a while. Adding Verse to the package was a late development. I was told that Garrett never made a trade request. And I was told a hard no on Denzel Ward's availability, for example. Perhaps he wanted a change of scenery, but relocating Garrett for the player's sake was not a part of this.
This interest from L.A. likely manifested earlier this offseason when Cleveland restructured Garrett's contract, which made a deal much more feasible from a salary cap standpoint. The Rams' pursuit, then, seems to have ratcheted up before the team landed on the current trade deal.
It's the huge momentum swing for the Rams and their defense, and the constant "hounding" by the Rams contingent paid off. Now, L.A. has its best defender since Aaron Donald for another shot at winning a Super Bowl.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams 'hounded' Browns about Myles Garrett trade, per report