One of the biggest trades made this offseason involved the Cleveland Browns sending star pass rusher Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams. However, there was a chance that the Buffalo Bills could have landed the standout defensive end.
Logtime NFL insider Tom Pelissero wrote in his new column “The Sweep” on Wednesday that the Bills called the Browns on the day they traded Garrett to the Rams.
“But sources say another team called Cleveland on the day the trade leaked: The Bills, who had checked in periodically on Garrett’s availability for the better part of two years,” Pelissero wrote. “Previously, the answer had always been the same: Myles Garrett is not available. Even if the Bills would’ve matched the draft pick compensation in the Rams’ trade package—and talks never got there—they couldn’t offer to trade a young edge player on a rookie contract such as [Jared] Verse, whose inclusion in the deal was pivotal in getting the Browns to relent and move the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year.”
Garrett signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension with the Browns last offseason, but Cleveland decided it was time to move on after making his fifth All-Pro selection.
Bills Didn’t Have a Young Star Pass Rusher to Trade
The only issue with the Bills pulling off a trade for Garrett is that they didn’t have a young star defensive end like the Rams did in Jared Verse.
Cleveland seemed pretty strong about getting an upcoming star defensive end back in the trade, one that has already proven itself in the NFL, rather than just getting another first-round pick.
Los Angeles drafted Verse in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and he has been great, recording 12 sacks and 22 tackles for loss in 34 games while making two Pro Bowls.
Verse will turn 26 this season, and since the Browns are in rebuild mode, adding a player like Verse is crucial if Cleveland wants to be ready to compete in the next few seasons.
The Browns got Verse and a 2027 1st-round pick, a 2028 2nd-round pick, and a 2029 3rd-round pick back for Garrett.
Buffalo likely would have had to part with two or maybe three first-round picks to land Garrett, since it would not have been able to trade a young pass rusher, and the Browns still might not have wanted to do it.
Browns General Manager Andrew Berry Said It Was Important to Land Verse
Berry spoke a few days after trading Garrett in early June and told the media how important it was to land a young player like Verse for the future.
“I’d say No. 1, the combination of picks and players, we think it’s excellent,” Berry said, via The Athletic’s Zac Jackson. “We’re really pleased with it in the short and long term. I’d say that the second piece of that in terms of us, today is … we all probably have to have a little bit of humility because we just don’t know how the season’s going to unfold. And probably the third part is, realistically, any team that is making a move for a player of Myles’ caliber, they feel like they’re in their window or they are about to be in their window. There’s unlikely to be a deal out there where you’re getting (an) expected top-five pick out of it, which is why the volume of picks and particularly the inclusion of Jared was incredibly important.”
Many Bills fans might get on Buffalo for not getting the Garrett trade done, but it never seemed like the organization ever had a chance.
Bills Regularly ‘Checked in’ on Trade for $160 Million 5-Time All-Pro: Report