It’s never easy to trade a superstar at the level of a Myles Garrett, especially when fresh off a 23-sack season. GM Andrew Berry had the unfortunate honor of having to trade the franchise icon, which is often the kind of situation that gets a GM fired, but after bringing in Jared Verse and three strong draft picks, he is already getting heaps of praise for the deal he made.
Nobody is saying that the Browns will be better without Myles Garrett, but a few years down the road when Garrett is entering his mid-30s, Jared Verse will be in his prime, and these future draft picks ideally materialize into more cornerstone talent. A lot of fans could look back and be extremely proud of what Berry was able to do with this trade. There’s a world where people can say that the Browns won this trade, and one former player is already living in that world.
During a recent episode of Speakeasy, former Brown T.J. Ward said that the Browns won the trade already.
“Myles is a great, great talent. Verse is younger. I think Verse does a variety of things a little bit better than Myles. What I also know for a fact is when you’re not on a winning team, your numbers can be inflated. When you have other playmakers around you making plays, you can’t make every play,” said Ward.
It’s a fair point even if it is a bit of a reductive look at what Garrett has accomplished over the years. He often had to fight through double-teams and was always far and away the opposing offense’s main priority to keep contained, yet he still got his numbers regardless. He was a true game wrecker in every sense who is completely irreplaceable.
That being said, Ward is right in pointing out that Verse is slightly more versatile than Garrett. New defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg will be able to get creative with him, which will help him feel like he isn’t expected to come to Cleveland and solely replace a guy who just recorded 23 sacks.
Even if this goes poorly for the Browns and the Rams win a Super Bowl or two, it’s hard to see this trade package as anything but strong for Cleveland. You never know what the draft picks will be, but Berry holding out until he made sure Verse was coming back in the deal is another example of how he is on a roll as a GM.
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