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The Rams didn’t buy Myles Garrett — they had to pry him loose with a player Berry already considered a star
Everyone saw the draft picks in the Myles Garrett trade and assumed that’s what moved the needle for Cleveland. Browns GM Andrew Berry just corrected the record: without Jared Verse, there is no deal. Full stop. That one clarification changes everything about how we should read this trade.
Berry’s threshold was always a player, not just picks
According to ESPN’s reporting from Berry’s first public comments since the blockbuster closed, the Browns GM had a mental checklist for any Garrett trade: premium draft capital, yes — but also a young, cost-controlled star at a premium position. The Rams reportedly resisted including Verse early in talks, and that resistance is telling. Los Angeles knew exactly what Berry was asking for, because they knew exactly what Verse is worth. Only once the Rams relented and built the package around him did Cleveland engage seriously, per the ESPN report.
Berry reportedly described Verse as a “huge part of this return” and called him a “perfect DNA match” for Cleveland’s attacking defensive front — high praise that signals this isn’t a consolation prize. It’s the centerpiece dressed up in draft-pick clothing.
Why this framing matters for both franchises
The loudest counterargument to Cleveland’s side of this deal has been simple: you traded a generational pass rusher, a reigning Defensive Player of the Year caliber talent, for a young edge and three future picks. That’s a volume play, not a value play. But Berry’s comments reframe the math entirely. If Verse truly profiles as a foundational defensive piece — the kind of player Berry was unwilling to move Garrett without — then Cleveland didn’t just reload with capital. They may have swapped one elite edge rusher for another at a fraction of the contract cost, then pocketed the picks as a bonus.
For the Rams, the reverse is true. The willingness to eventually include Verse confirms how badly Los Angeles wanted Garrett. You don’t surrender your most prized young defender unless you believe the player coming back is a legitimate difference-maker right now. That’s a significant bet on an aging, expensive edge — one the Rams are clearly comfortable making.
The bottom line
Berry spent over a year aggressively rebuffing every Garrett trade inquiry. The fact that he finally said yes tells you the Verse inclusion wasn’t a minor sweetener — it was the unlock. Cleveland didn’t get talked into this deal. They built the exact terms they needed and waited until the Rams blinked. That’s not a franchise in retreat. That’s a front office that understood its own leverage and used it.
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