The Myles Garrett Trade Is Another Reminder of How Far Cardinals Are From Contending

The NFC West just got steeper. That's not good for the Cardinals.

Oct 12, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) warms up before the game at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

ARIZONA — The NFC West just got increasingly tougher.

The Los Angeles Rams added one of the best players in football in Myles Garrett after acquiring the two-time Defensive Player of the Year from the Cleveland Browns via trade this morning.

It's a massive haul going back to Cleveland, as Jared Verse and future first, second and third-round picks are the finalized package for Garrett.

For the Browns, they inch closer to hitting the reset button. For the Rams, they only push their chips in deeper towards a Super Bowl run here and now. For the 49ers and Seahawks, competition just got much stiffer in the NFC West.

And for the Cardinals, they just got pushed down further in the basement of the division.

Myles Garrett Trade Really Hurts Cardinals

Dec 21, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) pumps his fist after a missed extra point attempt by the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

The Cardinals weren't going to be extremely competitive this season. The Garrett trade doesn't change that, as Arizona was already going to be likely to finish last once again in the NFC West.

However, the Rams adding one of the best players in football to an already championship-ready team simply signals Los Angeles is going to be one of the best teams in the league not just for this season, but also for the next couple of years as well. Garrett doesn't turn 31 until late December and still clearly has plenty of gas left in the tank.

Part of the hope of Arizona's rebuild was by time the Cardinals were ready to compete — which could have been as soon as next season — the Rams may have taken a step back. However, Los Angeles traded for cornerback Trent McDuffie (fixing their biggest weakness in the CB room), acquired Garrett for the foreseeable future and also got their next potential franchise passer in Ty Simpson.

With the 49ers and Seahawks looking like they're not quite ready to drop off anytime soon, it's a bit discouraging for Cardinals fans to see Garrett in Los Angeles, especially since it wasn't long ago where Aaron Donald was terrorizing the division.

The Cardinals likely did the best thing for themselves this offseason, parting ways with quarterback Kyler Murray and starting anew with head coach Mike LaFleur. Arizona's rebuild isn't going to be a one-and-done, and there's hope the Cardinals will do things the right way.

That hope can still coexist alongside Garrett's newfound presence in Los Angeles, but the Cardinals haven't felt this far out of contention for the NFC West in years.