The Pressure Shows Up Early
Myles Garrett made NFL history last season with 23 sacks, a single-season record. Now with the Rams after a stunner of a trade from Cleveland, he's aiming for something bigger: catching Bruce Smith's career mark of 200.
"I don't know how much longer I want to play, but I know there's a big goal out there, that's 200," Garrett told the Rams' website. Every pass-rusher in the league knows that number. It's the mountain no one has climbed since Smith hit 200 in the second-to-last game of 2003.
The numbers are doing most of the announcement work here, which is usually how teams prefer it.
Garrett sits at 125.5 sacks now, third among active players behind Von Miller (138.5) and Cameron Jordan (132). The catch: Miller is 37, Jordan turns 37 in July. They're not making the climb. Garrett, at 30, still might.
Here's the math that matters. Garrett piled up 124.5 sacks before turning 30—the most in NFL history through that age, topping Reggie White's 108. That alone is remarkable. But to catch Smith, he needs 75 more, and only five players in league history have ever recorded 75 sacks after turning 30.
The Detail That Tilts It
The Rams have him under contract for five seasons. If he averages 14 sacks per year—his career average sits at 13.9—he'd finish at 195.5, five short of the record at age 35. Even at a more conservative 10 per year, he'd land at 175.5.
Things could be different in Los Angeles, though. In Cleveland, the Browns often played from behind, which means opposing teams threw more. If the Rams play with a lead, the calculus flips: more running, fewer sacks. But Garrett isn't thinking that way.
"I want to be the most dominant force on the field," he said. "I want them to always view me as a problem."
With 35 more sacks, he'd pass Jason Greene for third all-time. With 75, he'd pass Smith. The gap is real, but so is the runway.