The Los Angeles Rams pulled off the stunner of the offseason with their trade that sent Jared Verse to the Cleveland Browns for Myles Garrett. It unleashed a wave of reactions and emotions. That includes players on the Rams like Pro Bowler Byron Young.
Verse’s bookend, Young had also become good friends with his now former teammate.
Young shared a series of videos and images of himself and Verse, sending a message to his new rival.
Byron Young Sends Message to Jared Verse After Rams-Browns Trade
GettyByron Young and Jared Verse grew close during their time together on the Los Angeles Rams.
Young was drafted by the Rams one year before Verse was. They grew quite close in their two seasons together. Young posted a broken heart emoji on one image. He said that he was “sick blowing nose emoji” in a caption for a video. It was of him and Verse celebrating after a play.
“You’re gonna be ight gangsta [sleepy face emoji],” Young said in the caption for another image of him and Verse with their arms around one another posted to his Instagram story on June 1.
In another, Young posted, “Meet you at the top brudda [heart emoji].”
(via Byron Young/IG)
Young joins teammate and safety Quentin Lake in taking Verse’s trade to the Browns to heart, even while understanding the business aspect. Lake is a team captain for the Rams. Young is a Pro Bowler and led the team in sacks last season.
Their voices carry more weight than most in the Rams’ locker room. The group will adjust to its new situation in due time.
“It is bittersweet that we don’t get to see these brothers create more #Rams memories this szn,” 1st & Tuna’s Pierce DeLuna posted on X on June 1. “From being on the sideline at camp, I can tell you the bickering and joking and yapping is genuine. They had to be football bros separated at birth.”
Young shared DeLuna’s characterization of the situation at hand for him and the Rams.
Myles Garrett Trade Could Be Bad News for Byron Young
GettyByron Young could have to wait on his big payday and find it elsewhere after the Los Angeles Rams’ decision.
Garrett’s arrival will mean even less attention for Young on the other side of the Rams’ defensive front. However, it could negatively affect the former Tennessee Volunteer off the field.
“Rams’ approach is fascinating – taking big swings instead of paying young stars,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported in a post on X on June 1. “Sources say L.A. is giving early impressions it won’t extend 2027 FAs Puka Nacua, Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Steve Avila this summer. Perhaps that changes but deals are not on the radar right now.”
That could mean Young hits the unrestricted free agent market in 2027, putting additional emphasis on his 2026 performance.
As AtoZ Sports’ Zach Ragan wrote on June 1, that intel goes against earlier predictions.
“Young’s case might be complicated by the fact that Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, the Rams’ first- and second-round picks from the 2024 draft, will be extension-eligible next offseason. The team might have to make some decisions about which of its stellar young defensive front-seven players it can and can’t extend,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote in January.
“I cannot rule out the possibility that he ends up getting his extension from a different team. The people in the Rams’ front office are extremely good at what they do, and I don’t doubt their ability to keep the gang together if they want. But the salary cap makes roster-building an exercise in resource allocation, and teams generally don’t like to commit too much to any one position group at the expense of the others.
As it turned out, Verse is the one playing for an extension on a different team after the Rams’ trade for Garrett. Graziano predicted a four-year, $145 million contract extension with $72 million guaranteed for Young.
That prediction seems lofty with the $160 million superstar, Garrett, now in tow.
Rams Pro Bowler Sends Message to Browns’ Jared Verse After Trade