Browns GM Andrew Berry explains ‘difficult decision’ to trade Myles Garrett, start new era in Cleveland originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Monday was a chaotic day in the NFL world. Cleveland Browns fans can attest to that.
After nine seasons with the franchise, Myles Garrett was sent from the Browns to the Los Angeles Rams in return for Jared Verse and a haul of draft picks. While it must have been rough letting Garrett go, Cleveland’s general manager, Andrew Berry, opened up on his organization’s reasoning to trade his star away.
The franchise did get a young, already well-established defensive player in return, so youth was certainly a factor. However, Berry explained there was more to it than just going young.
Here’s what the Cleveland Browns GM said went into trading away one of the league’s most dominant players.
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Browns GM Andrew Berry explains why Browns traded Myles Garrett
It was, without a doubt, an incredibly tough decision for Berry to trade away Garrett. The star defensive end has consistently been a top-caliber player on his side of the ball since his entry to the NFL in 2017. The former first-overall pick has been a menace and perennial Pro Bowl inclusion, barring an injury.
Here is what Berry stated went into his franchise’s decision to trade Garrett to a Super Bowl-caliber team.
#Browns GM Andrew Berry on trading away Myles Garrett, saying the #Rams’ pursuit of him put Cleveland at a “crossroads” and made them reconsider Garrett as a “one-helmet player.” pic.twitter.com/EHPCyDngtg
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 1, 2026
According to Berry’s statement, Cleveland had intended Garrett to be a lifelong player for the franchise. Heading into the offseason, the Browns had bona fide thoughts that their defensive end would always be on their team.
“We have long taken the stance that our goal was for Myles Garrett to be a one-helmet player for his entire career, wrote Berry. “After rewriting the record books and representing our organization with excellence, we were sincere in that desire as we entered this offseason and did not envision a world where Myles was not a Cleveland Brown.”
Berry shared that Los Angeles had reached out first in their trade proposal to Cleveland, which brought forth a tough decision of Garrett or the team’s future.
“When the Rams first approached us with the possibility of trading Myles, we remained convicted in our position, but as discussions intensified we were stuck at a legitimate crossroads,” Berry said. “Do we hold on to a truly generational player who has become the identity of our team, or do we make the difficult decision that we think is best for the organization over the long run?”
While a professional sports team may find it hard to let go of a player in the echelon of Garrett, the Browns’ decision mainly relies on assessing the franchise’s long-term future. The defensive end will be heading into a season where he will turn 31 years old in late December. Along with that, Cleveland is most likely not finishing in the winning column this season, and the franchise wants a better standing in future seasons.
They did lose Garrett, but Cleveland did pick up an incredible young defensive player in return: Jared Verse. Verse will be turning 26 years old this November, and already has two Pro Bowl nods, along with winning the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
“Jared’s passion and relentless style of play will be embraced by our fans,” Berry wrote. “He will fit right in with the established identity of our defense. We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome him to the Dawg Pound!”
Berry ended by acknowledging the severity of the trade, but also mentioned the team’s cap situation brightening with Garrett’s departure.
“We recognize the unexpected nature of this trade, but it opens up great opportunities for our franchise. We are excited to welcome Jared into the organization, along with the cap flexibility and draft pick resources to deploy to the rest of the roster that will allow us to add to our budding core on both sides of the ball.”