One Game’s Enough To Remind Browns What They Gave Up by Trading Myles Garrett

The Cleveland Browns are currently a Top-10 team in the NFL when it comes to sacks (26) and pressure rate (32.7 percent) against opposing offenses.

Sounds pretty good, right? Not when you expected to be so much better.

If the Browns keep up their current pace, they would end the regular season with 49 sacks, four less than last year’s total. And their pressure rate is around 2.4 percent worse than last year’s.

The big difference, of course, is that Myles Garrett no longer plays for Cleveland. Garrett, who set the single season sack record last year with 23, was traded to the Los Angeles Rams during the offseason for a 2027 first-round, 2028 second round and 2029 third round pick, along with edge defender Jared Verse.

And this is the real concerning part: the Browns have been able to generate decent 2026 pass rushing numbers without Garrett on the roster, and without Verse making a noticeable contribution.

Thread on Browns DE Jared Verse's production this season:

In addition to not registering a sack yet, Verse has been credited with six initial pressures. His pressure rate (3.3%) ranks 185th out of 198 qualifying players. His EDGE pass-rush win rate (10.8%) ranks 57th out of 58…
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) November 5, 2026

After nine games with the Browns, Verse has been credited with 15 pressures by Pro Football Focus, while ESPN analytics had him ranked 185th out of 198 qualifying players with a pressure rate of 3.3% before this weekend’s Saints game. During this matchup, Verse also saw his snap count percentage dip below 60.0 on defense (57.3) for just the second time this year.

Meanwhile, Garrett has appeared in just two contests so far in the season--the Week 1 game in Melbourne where he came away with zero sacks and tackles, and last Sunday’s monster performance against Washington, where he literally took over.

In 309 fewer defensive snaps, Garrett has already produced three sacks and one forced fumble more than Verse, as well as one tackle for a loss and three quarterback hits less than his counterpart. Just to be clear: yes, those numbers for Garrett have come in seven full games less than Verse.

.@RamsNFL @Flash_Garrett Superman was back in uniform and played like he was trying to make up for lost time in rehab...#BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/1fms3ZUbTk
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) November 9, 2026

Are the Browns already losing in the Myles Garrett trade?

No doubt about it.

Since Day 1, Cleveland has made a point of talking up how much of a positive impact Verse has had since arriving on the Berea campus, especially in the locker room.

Everybody pointed to how Verse stayed after practice to help rookie Spencer Fano during summer workouts, or how his in-practice fight with Fano a few days later helped the team gain full confidence in the first-rounder and his readiness for the starting job.

He’s also been a very vocal leader, even prompting Browns’ captain and arguably the team’s best defensive player, Denzel Ward, to say this about the two defensive ends back in early October:

"Definitely brought a lot of juice and just mentality, as well," said Ward regarding what Verse brings to the table, according to Rams Wire. "Myles is a heck of a player, great player, but I think Jared, he's more vocal, more of a vocal player, vocal leader out there for us. Since the first day he stepped in the building, just yelling, screaming and making his mark out there in meetings and on the practice field, kind of rallying guys. So definitely respect who he is as a player and the way he approaches the game and how he brings guys along."

All that sounds great. But you know what else would be great? It would be great if Verse’s notable leadership skill came accompanied by the kind of on-the-field production that led to him being appointed Defensive Rookie of the Year and an essential condition in order for the Browns to go along with the Myles Garrett trade.

Of course, Cleveland has yet to execute three high draft picks, and depending on who they select over the course of the next few years, they could come out clearly on top of this deal. But as things stand right now, the Browns might even feel forced to invest one of those picks at the defensive end position, either on a trade or through the draft.

There’s no way of knowing how good the Browns’ defense could be this year if Garrett were still on the team, playing alongside pleasantly surprising contributors such as Michael Hall or Sam Williams. His injury this year creates an enormous "what if?" scenario. But we will know, in time, what Verse’s eventual output for the club will be.

And we also know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that what he’s done for the team after the first nine games in a Cleveland uniform is quite simply not enough.

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