The Rams were six yards from the Super Bowl.
The Rams’ celebrated young defense needed only to smother immobile Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold deep in his territory in the final five minutes to regain possession and have a real shot at winning last season’s NFC championship.
They couldn’t touch him.
For more than four minutes Darnold drove downfield, connecting on three of four passes, baffling the pass rushers, bleeding the clock, and by the time the Seahawks finally gave the ball back, the Rams had only 25 seconds to live.
Final score: Seahawks 31, Rams 27.
Final verdict: The Rams needed a closer.
The Rams needed somebody to chase Darnold into submission the way Aaron Donald once famously chased down Joe Burrow in the final seconds of Super Bowl LVI.
The Rams needed a closer the way the Dodgers needed Edwin Díaz.
The Rams needed … Myles Garrett?
Are you kidding me? They got him? He now plays for them?
The Rams needed an edge rusher and they acquired an edge destroyer? The Rams needed a veteran defensive lineman and they acquired a one-man defensive line?
The Rams needed a closer and here comes Mariano Rivera?
It’s all true. It’s hella crazy. It’s so Rams.
In their first blockbuster deal since the last one won them a Super Bowl — remember Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford? — the Rams pulled off another heist Monday in acquiring two-time defensive player of the year Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns for younger defensive star Jared Verse and multiple draft picks.
The Rams will miss the inspirational Verse, and one of those draft picks is a 2027 first rounder, and they’re once again dangerously mortgaging the future but … c’mon.
It’s Myles Garrett, people.
He treats quarterbacks the way Rams general manager Les Snead treats draft picks.
Crumple, discard, next.
He took what Deacon Jones invented and has done it better than anyone in history.
He’s a Fearsome Onesome.
Considering where he ranks in NFL history, the Browns just gave him away. Thank you, Cleveland. While you’re at it, can you take back LeBron?
Last season Garrett, who is still only 30, set the NFL’s single-season record for sacks with 23. He also owns the NFL record with six straight seasons of at least 12 sacks.
His career is filled with monster moments. In one game he had five sacks. In another game he had nine tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and a blocked field goal. In one season he had an NFL record 33 tackles for loss.
He’s also been the subject of a monster suspension, when the NFL kicked him out for the six remaining games of the season in 2019 after he pulled the helmet off Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and swung it at him, hitting him in the head.
Garrett later apologized while accusing Rudolph of precipitating the fight with a racial slur. Garrett’s claims were never proven, and he quietly rejoined the Browns for the 2020 season.
He’s not known for violence except if you’re holding a football. He’s not known for taking any plays off, even though he was so unhappy he requested a trade out of Cleveland. He’s largely stayed off the gossip pages, an absence which is about to end as he is dating Los Angeles local and Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim.
In all, Garrett is the one sweetheart of a player the Rams needed to complete their preparation for next Valentine’s Day 2027 Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium.
Matthew Stafford coming back? Check. He signed a contract extension.
Secondary help? Check. They added newly acquired All-Pro Trent McDuffie and his former Kansas City Chiefs running mate Jaylen Watson.
Nearly every other important player returning from a team that was arguably football’s best until that nail-biting loss to the eventual champion Seahawks? Check.
To all this, adding arguably the greatest edge rusher in history? Checkmate.
The Rams will miss Verse. The fans loved him, his teammates loved him more, and he was such a force after only two seasons he was considered the heir apparent to the retired Donald.
Two seasons ago he was the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year and last season he was widely lauded for his 7½ sacks.
But, um, Garrett had more than three times that many.
This sort of deal is what the Rams do when they think they are close to a championship. This is why they have become one of Los Angeles’ two most admired sports franchises.
They go for it. They push all their chips to the middle and they go for it. They realize this town won’t settle for anything less than championship effort so they go for it.
Some football executives are wary of criticism for trading draft picks. Snead wears T-shirts cursing those picks. Some football executives plan for the distant future. With the support of owner Stan Kroenke, Snead never looks past the next Sunday.
Way back when, some folks wondered about the wisdom of trading young and popular Goff and three prime draft picks for aging Stafford in March 2021. But the Rams knew Stafford was the closer they needed to win a Super Bowl.
And, yeah silly, they won the next Super Bowl.
In that way, this is much of the same deal. The Browns realize they’re not winning anything immediately and want to build for the future. The Rams were all too happy to give them that future for the Browns’ present.
And what a present Garrett will be, the gift that keeps on crushing, the crown jewel of a revamped defense that should make the Rams the preseason favorites to unseat the defending Super Bowl champions.
One of whom is undoubtedly listening.
Sam Darnold, you there?
The post Super Bowl favorites? Rams make their claim by trading for superstar Myles Garrett appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
