The NFC West arms race just took a huge step forward. The Los Angeles Rams are trading for future Pro Football Hall of Famer Myles Garrett and giving the Cleveland Browns Jared Verse and more in return, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport. The Seattle Seahawks, meanwhile, are just watching the whole situation unfold.
Maybe the Browns wanted a young, top-flight edge rusher to get back to replace Garrett. Seattle didn't really have that. Derick Hall is a good player, but he doesn't appear to be as good as Jared Verse. Seattle did have good draft capital to give, but that might not have been enough to pry Garrett from Cleveland.
Maybe the Seahawks didn't even try. Garrett is great, but he is now past 30 years old. Eventually, he might diminish. The issue is that he hasn't so far, and he is going to cause problems for Seattle's offense at least twice a year.
Los Angeles Rams make the Myles Garrett move Seattle Seahawks fans likely wish they didn't
The NFC West was brutal last season, and that might have been what Seattle needed to win the Super Bowl. If a team made it through the division and then beat division rivals in the playoffs, whoever they faced in the title game was likely going to be easier. Had the Rams defeated the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game, they probably would have won the Super Bowl.
LA looks better now than they did last season. They rebuilt their cornerback group, an area that caused them grave issues in 2025, and exchanging Verse, a two-time Pro Bowler, and is just 25 years old, a first-round pick, and more, for Garrett is a wise move that makes the Rams a lot better immediately.
Offensively, Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua are going to be an issue even for Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald, and they have proven that over the last two seasons. A better Rams defense gives them the advantage over the Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. (The Arizona Cardinals are also in the division, but no one really counts them.)
Maybe oddly, the hope for 12s might be that the Seattle Seahawks didn't offer the Cleveland Browns anything for Myles Garrett. If general manager John Schneider did and the Los Angeles Rams did something better, that is as big an offseason defeat as possible.
What is clear is that Seattle's road to repeat its Super Bowl title from last season just got a lot more difficult. Myles Garrett will be a force, and the Rams are better. The next move should belong to the Seahawks.
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