Rams’ Pursuit of Myles Garrett Was Years in the Making

It’s not every day that a team gets the opportunity to add an elite, Hall of Fame caliber player in their prime. While the Los Angeles Rams traded for Myles Garrett on Monday, it’s something that was years in the making. In the same way Sean McVay wears down a defense on Sundays, it took general manager Les Snead grinding down the Cleveland Browns front office until ‘no’ was no longer an option.

“I’ve got a good relationship with Andrew Berry,” said Les Snead. “I thought I’d just check in, you know? Andrew and I have a good relationship. We like talking about football a good bit so I would pester him a little bit, probably jokingly at first, kept doing that. And then we began talking a little more seriously about it.”

While the trade was done this week, this is something that’s been years in the making. According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Rams called the Browns about Garrett back in 2022. However, it also wasn’t the only trade that the Rams explored at the time as they were also in conversations with the Carolina Panthers on Christian McCaffrey and Brian Burns.

Snead once again called the following offseason in 2023 to no avail. The timing never worked and the Browns were adamant about keeping their franchise player. It was understandable. The Rams likely would have had the same response had teams called about Aaron Donald.

“Just getting to know him over the course of his career and my coaching career and we feel like he can upgrade our football team. He’s going to make a great impact,” said McVay. “He's a pain in the ass to game plan against and I'm glad we don't have to do that anymore.”

As Robin Sherbatsky said in “How I Met Your Mother”, for a relationship to work, you need chemistry and timing, but timing is a bitch. The Rams and Garrett always had chemistry. This is a player who they had been enamored with for years. However, the timing never worked.

In 2022, it was almost better that the trade didn’t work. The 2022 season ended up being a disastrous one for the Rams as they dealt with injuries and the fallout of winning a Super Bowl in the fashion that they did. Garrett would have certainly been a great addition in 2023, but the Rams were still in the midst of re-tooling their defense with younger talent. They weren’t ready for that kind of move.

On the other side, the timing wasn’t right for Garrett either. In 2020, the Browns won their first playoff game since 2002 and looked to be headed in the right direction. They pushed the Chiefs to the brink in the AFC Divisional Round. While the Rams called about Garrett in 2022, it was right after the Browns made the splash trade for DeShaun Watson. At that time, Watson was seen as one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL.

The Rams called the Browns again in 2023, but behind Garrett and the defense, Cleveland made the playoffs and once again won 11 games. However, the past two seasons wore Garrett down and opened him up to the idea of leaving.

Last offseason, Garrett gave the Browns one last chance to show his commitment to the franchise and show his belief that they could turn the corner by signing an extension. The extension came shortly after Garrett stated that his “goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton. It has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl.”

Despite breaking the sack record and winning Defensive Player of the Year for the second time, the Browns went 5-12.

“I don't take my time in Cleveland for granted,” said Garrett. “I did love being there. It tears at you to leave and to now break away but that's just a part of the things you learn and you have to adjust as you grow up and learn that you have to move on.”

Finally, the timing became right. Back in March, the Browns reworked Garrett’s contract to make a trade possible. Players like Byron Young, Kobie Turner, and Braden Fiske are ready for a Super Bowl push after the scars of back-to-back heartbreaking playoff losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks. They are ready to take the next step. With the Rams in a Super Bowl window, they fit Garrett’s timeline and Garrett fits theirs.

For a relationship to work, all you need is chemistry and timing, and the Rams and Garrett finally had both. This is a Rams team that is much closer to winning a Super Bowl than it would have been three years ago when trade talks began. The timing right now couldn’t be more perfect.

“We began talking a little more seriously about it,” said Snead. “The draft came and went. We picked talks back up and we tried to discuss more draft compensation. During May, we kept trying. As the June 1st date was getting closer, probably sometime late May there into that weekend, we had a decision to make. We knew where Cleveland stood. They knew where we stood and then we proceeded to make the trade.”

In the same way that Sean McVay breaks down a defense with the run game on Sundays, Snead broke down Berry and the Browns front office with his persistence. While it also meant the Rams traded away Jared Verse, it was a unique opportunity that was difficult to pass up.

The Rams get a player who can help them in a Super Bowl window while Garrett finally gets to play for a franchise that is no stranger to winning.

“Since the very beginning it's always been about winning and it just breaks down to the timing of everything,” said Garrett. “That was an opportunity that was just too difficult to pass up.”

After years of admiring Garrett from afar, the Rams finally made their move. McVay has always appreciated the type of player and person Garrett is. IIn the same way, Garrett has respected McVay’s offense and the opportunity to play alongside Matthew Stafford.

Circumstances changed, and the Rams were finally ready to win and Garrett was ready to chase a ring. For the first time, both sides were aligned in exactly what they wanted. When that finally happened, neither side was going to let the opportunity pass again.

Add us as a preferred source on Google