The Cleveland Browns pulled off one of the most shocking moves of the offseason, trading Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday. Garrett was coming off a 2025 season in which he set an NFL record with 23 sacks.
The deal made sense only if the Browns landed something substantial in return. They did. Cleveland received Jared Verse plus three draft picks: a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2029 conditional third-round pick.
The numbers are doing most of the announcement work here, which is usually how teams prefer it.
Here's where it gets interesting. The Browns could still end up with a second first-round pick thanks to a bizarre conditional clause buried in the trade terms.
If the Rams trade Garrett to any AFC North team—Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, or Baltimore—at any point before the 2029 NFL Draft, Los Angeles must surrender a 2029 first-round pick instead of that third-rounder. That's the one condition. Nothing else.
It's unusual, but not unprecedented. The Dallas Cowboys used the exact same logic when sending Micah Parsons to Green Bay. Under those terms, the Cowboys would receive a 2028 first-round pick from the Packers if Parsons landed with another NFC East team.
The Browns weren't being paranoid for no reason. Back in 2019, the Rams sent two first-round picks to Jacksonville for Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey won a Super Bowl with L.A. in 2021, made three Pro Bowls, and then, after the 2022 season, the Rams traded him to the Miami Dolphins. The Rams have shown they'll move a star player just a few years after acquiring him.
Garrett is 30 years old and under contract through 2030, so he's not leaving Los Angeles unless the Rams initiate a trade. And if that happens, it almost certainly won't be to an AFC North team—not with this clause sitting in the deal.
The price of caution
The Browns did their homework. They knew the Rams have a pattern of cycling through high-profile defensive players, and they protected against the one scenario that would really hurt: watching their former star line up twice a year for a division rival. The clause costs the Rams nothing unless they choose to move Garrett north or east. At that point, the Browns get paid in draft capital. It's a clean bit of roster insurance, written in pick swaps rather than legalese.