Steelers Are Biggest (AFC) Winners of Myles Garrett Trade

The Pittsburgh Steelers are clear victors of the Myles Garrett trade, even if they weren't directly involved.

Oct 12, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) reacts during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Simply by proxy, the Pittsburgh Steelers are a clear winner of a blockbuster trade that happened elsewhere in the NFL.

As reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Cleveland Browns have sent superstar EDGE rusher Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams for a package including 2024 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick and additional draft compensation.

🚨 🚨 🚨

Bombshell: The #Browns are finalizing a trade of Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to the #Rams in a shocker, sources tell me, @TomPelissero & @AdamSchefter.

Cleveland would send Garrett to LA in exchange for star edge Jared Verse, a first-rounder, and more. pic.twitter.com/sQkTsV7QLD

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 1, 2026

Fresh off breaking the single-season sack record with 23.0 in 2025, the two-time AP Defensive Player of the Year and five-time first-team All-Pro's reign of terror in the AFC North has officially come to an end.

Cleveland was not a threat to triumph over the Steelers, Baltimore Ravens or Cincinnati Bengals for the division title even with Garrett on its roster this season, but the Browns' odds have now taken a substantial hit.

Given how many times Cleveland has tripped up Pittsburgh at Huntington Bank Field over the last handful of years and could have given it a run for its money down the line if Garrett stuck around, the black and gold have to be breathing a huge sigh of relief.

Steelers' Focus on Garrett in 2025 and How It Hurt Them

The Steelers didn't let Garrett light up the stat sheet during his historic run last year.

In his two games against Pittsburgh, he failed to record a sack or a forced fumble while finishing with three tackles.

That doesn't mean his impact wasn't felt, however. With the Steelers just needing a win to clinch the AFC North during Week 17 on the road against Cleveland, they mustered only 291 yards of total offense and six points in a 13-6 loss.

Pittsburgh bounced back with a Week 18 victory over the Ravens that gave it its first division crown since 2020, but that defeat at the hands of the Browns could've easily dashed its playoff hopes.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) tries to get past Pittsburgh Steelers guard Spencer Anderson (74) as quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) looks to throw during the second half of an NFL football game at Huntington Bank Field, Dec. 28, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Garrett needed one-half of a sack to tie the single-season record and one to break it in that contest, but the Steelers devoted a ton of attention to making sure he didn't accomplish that feat against them, and rightfully so.

Garrett even noted that fact after the game, stating Pittsburgh was more worried about "keeping me away from Aaron [Rodgers]" rather than getting the win.

Now, the Steelers no longer have to keep themselves up at night two times a year wondering how they're going to stop one of the best pass rushers in NFL history.

Impact on Pittsburgh's Playoff Chances

With Garrett not just out of the division but the AFC as a whole, Pittsburgh's path to a second-straight division title and fourth-straight playoff berth has become less complicated.

Again, it's not as though the Browns themselves were going to directly challenge the Steelers in either of those regards, but Garrett's game-wrecking ability could have easily cost them a game and potentially their postseason hopes as a result.

Pittsburgh has not swept Cleveland since 2021, and it has lost each of its last four games at Huntington Bank Field as well. Snapping both of those skids is now a far easier task for the Steelers now that Garrett isn't lining up against them.

The Browns are still going to pose somewhat of a threat just because their defense is still uber-talented, and Verse himself is a pass rusher with a ton of promise, but they're not nearly as intimidating as they were with Garrett on the roster.

It all comes down to how Rodgers and the rest of Pittsburgh's offense can execute, but the organization now has to feel far better about its chances of notching two victories vs. Cleveland in 2026 and beyond.

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