Myles Garrett arrived at Dodger Stadium on Friday night wearing Kobe Bryant on his chest and threw a strike from the top of the mound. It was the cleanest possible introduction to a city that expects nothing less from its stars. Meanwhile, across the country, the man sent the other way in the blockbuster trade was telling reporters in Berea exactly how it felt to be moved: “I was upset for a good little bit of time.”
Myles Garrett Delivers in First L.A. Appearance
The Los Angeles Rams’ new defensive end threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, June 6, during the Dodgers’ Freeway Series matchup against the Los Angeles Angels. Garrett arrived rocking a Kobe Bryant graphic tee and a Dodgers hat, a deliberate nod to the city’s most revered icon before he’d played a single snap for his new team.
The pitch landed for a strike. The full heat comes from the top of the rubber. At 30 years old, Garrett holds the NFL’s single-season sack record: 23 sacks in 2025, a mark that stands alone in NFL history. The arm strength, then, should not surprise anyone.
The Dodgers invited Garrett to throw out the honorary first pitch to recognize him as a new member of the L.A. family. He’d already given them plenty of reason to believe the welcome was worth extending. “It was a surprise. It was a bit of excitement,” Garrett said of arriving in the city. “Being in L.A., I have many roots here and knowing that there’s a winning culture and some great teammates and great coaches here, I was definitely looking forward to the opportunity.”
Why L.A. Feels Like Home
His father is from Los Angeles. His girlfriend Chloe is a native. Growing up, Garrett watched film of the Rams’ Fearsome Foursome, including Deacon Jones, when he started seriously learning the game in high school. So the city isn’t foreign territory. It’s a homecoming. The Bryant T-shirt made that clear before he ever opened his mouth.
Garrett waived his no-trade clause to join the Rams, motivated by one factor above all others. “Since the very beginning, it’s always been about winning,” he said. “What does it look like for me to be a winner now? And an opportunity to do that here was just too difficult to pass up.
Over nine seasons in Cleveland, he earned two NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards, in 2023 and 2025, and made seven Pro Bowls alongside five first-team All-Pro rosters. If he replicates any portion of that production in Los Angeles, the fans will be putting his face on T-shirts too. For now, the All NFL Teams: Complete Alphabetical List of 32 Teams (2026 Season) helps frame just how rarely a player of Garrett’s standing moves between franchises this late in a career.
Josh McDaniels: Drake Maye Knows a Hell of a Lot More Than He Did Last Year
New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels addressed reporters at OTAs on Saturday, June 7. His message on Drake Maye was direct: year two in this system is an entirely different experience.
“This offseason is different than last,” McDaniels said. “Last offseason, we were just getting to know the language and learning how to operate within a system of offensive football. This year, we’re trying to take that to the next phase, the next level.
Maye finished 2025 as an MVP candidate during his first season running McDaniels’ offense. That foundation, McDaniels said Saturday, is precisely what separates this summer from the last one.
“He knows a hell of a lot more than he did last year at this time,” McDaniels said. “He’s trying to either really turn the corner and perfect some things that he has an opportunity to do or try to learn a few new things and evolve as a player and as an offense. He’s had a great attitude. Super fun to be around every day. Fun like he was last year, but it’s a more accelerated version.”
A.J. Brown Changes the Equation
The addition of wide receiver A.J. Brown gives Maye a legitimate boundary threat alongside his existing weapons, a piece that was conspicuously absent last year. McDaniels built an offense that produced an MVP-caliber quarterback in year one without a receiver of Brown’s caliber. Year two, therefore, carries a higher ceiling. The Patriots will answer that question when they open the 2026 season.
The Top 50 Richest NFL Players and How They Built Their Net Worth includes quarterbacks who turned exactly this kind of second-year leap into generational contracts. Maye’s trajectory is already pointing in that direction, provided McDaniels’ confidence proves accurate.
‘Upset’ Jared Verse Was Caught Off Guard by Rams’ Myles Garrett Trade
Jared Verse didn’t pretend. Standing at the podium after his first Browns practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea, Ohio, on Wednesday, June 3, the 2024 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year told reporters the trade affected him deeply before he found a way to accept it.
“It caught me by surprise,” Verse said. “I loved L.A. I love the coaches, the organization, my teammates, the staff, and the fans. I love the whole vibe of L.A. It was upsetting. I was upset for a good little bit of time.”
That raw honesty is the main point. Verse, 25, built two seasons in Los Angeles into one of the NFL’s most productive edge-rushing profiles. Per Pro Football Reference, he accumulated 12 career sacks across those two seasons. PFF credited him with 80 pressures in 2025 alone, the top figure by any edge rusher that year, earning an 83.9 overall defensive grade that ranked 11th among 115 qualified edge defenders. Per ESPN Research, since entering the league in 2024, Verse has tallied 99 career pressures, a total surpassed only by Micah Parsons and Garrett himself over that same span.
Leaving that behind stung. Leaving L.A. stung more. Yet what the Browns told him changed his perspective entirely.
Cleveland Made Clear He Was the Prize
Browns general manager Andrew Berry explained Tuesday that Verse was the linchpin of the deal, the centerpiece that made the entire transaction possible. The trade also brought Cleveland a 2027 first-round draft pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2029 third-rounder.
“Hard work never fails you,” Verse said Wednesday. “It brought some sunshine into this whole situation. It was cool to know that.”
Some of the comfort came from conversations with now-former Rams teammates Byron Young and Braden Fiske, the latter of whom Verse also played alongside at Florida State. Those exchanges helped him redirect his focus toward what comes next.
What comes next, Verse made clear, has nothing to do with chasing a legacy that isn’t his. His response to comparisons with Garrett drew one of the sharpest lines of the press conference.
“I’m not here to take anyone’s place,” Verse said. “Myles, he’s a size 13 Nikes, whatever those are.” I’m a size 13.5 or 14 in Jordans. Everybody’s different. I bring my own. That’s not my job.”
Head coach Todd Monken watched Verse’s first practice and arrived at the same conclusion Berry did.
“A guy who goes all out on every snap,” Monken said Wednesday. He’s going to fit us perfectly.
Verse himself left no ambiguity about his style. “It’s violent,” he told reporters. “It’s very mean. It’s very ‘why are you in my way?’ I play angrily because I want to know why you think you can block me. And if they gameplan for me, I’ve got something else for you.”
The One Gap Cleveland Needs Him to Close
Cleveland moved on from the franchise’s all-time sacks leader to acquire a player who led the NFL in pressures in each of his first two seasons. Still, one gap in Verse’s profile requires attention: his sack-conversion rate. He has converted just 8.5% of his pressures into sacks, well below the league’s elite finishers. By contrast, Garrett converted 27.4% of his pressures into sacks last season, per PFF. That finishing gap is real. Crucially, though, it’s also the clearest area where Verse can grow inside a new system.
Cleveland’s 4-3 scheme represents a shift from the Rams’ 3-4 front, one Verse welcomed openly. He was visibly energized by the Browns’ defensive tempo at OTAs, which suggests that the scheme fit could accelerate his development as a finishing rusher. Additionally, how many players make up a football team? NFL Roster Rules Explained underscores why roster construction decisions at defensive end carry such outsized weight: elite pass rushers are nearly impossible to replace.
“I’ve always been doubted my whole life,” Verse said. It definitely makes me feel resentful.
That chip was already worth three draft picks and a trade partner’s centerpiece. Cleveland is betting that it will translate into the kind of player who can fill seats in the biggest NFL stadiums in 2026, as detailed in the definitive capacity rankings, hidden economics, and future of America’s football cathedrals. For a franchise desperate to reset its identity, a 25-year-old with elite disruption traits and a violent mentality is the plan, not a consolation prize. To understand the financial stakes of building around a player like Verse, the Oldest NFL Players 2026: Active Roster + All-Time Longevity List offers useful context on how long elite edge rushers sustain peak production.
Garrett throws strikes in Los Angeles. Verse throws quarterbacks to the turf in Cleveland. Both franchises made their choice. Now both players have to prove it was right.
