Less than a week after acquiring Myles Garrett in a seismic trade with the Cleveland Browns, the Los Angeles Rams have reportedly reworked the once-record-setting contract the two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year signed with the Browns last spring.
While the Rams and Garrett didn’t agree on a new deal, L.A. did alter the contract that now pays him $204 million over five years, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who reported Thursday that’s essentially what Garrett was making previously with Cleveland.
Advertisement
The slight change allowed the Rams to move the vesting date of his guarantees back a few months, per Rapoport.
In March 2025, the Browns inked Garrett to a four-year extension, reportedly complete with an average annual salary of $40 million. At the time, that deal made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
That title has been borrowed by a collection of sack artists of late. Currently, Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. holds the throne as the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB. He landed a three-year extension reportedly worth $150 million earlier this offseason.
As for Garrett, he’s coming off one of the most dominant defensive campaigns the league’s seen. During the 2025 season, Garrett’s ninth and final go-around with the Browns, the gargantuan backfield wrecker amassed 23 sacks. He rewrote the NFL’s single-season sack record, which was set by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan in 2001 and then tied by Pittsburgh Steelers defensive stalwart T.J. Watt in 2021.
Advertisement
Additionally, Garrett clocked out with a whopping 33 tackles for loss last season. For reference, no other player in the league tallied more than 28 TFLs in 2025.
Play 2026 Soccer Pick ‘Em with FOX One and make your picks for the world’s biggest soccer tournament
Despite the exorbitant number of double teams and chip blocks that Garrett deals with, he consistently creates discomfort for opposing quarterbacks. Last season, the now-30-year-old Garrett ranked third among qualifying defensive linemen in pressure rate (16.3%), according to Next Gen Stats. He led that group, per NGS, with an average pass rush get-off — the time it takes for a pass rusher to cross the line of scrimmage — of 0.70 seconds.
Advertisement
The Rams, at the moment clear Super Bowl favorites, have ponied up this offseason to pay premium players at game-changing positions. Months before reworking Garrett’s contract so they could onboard the Hall of Fame-bound edge rusher, they locked Trent McDuffie into a four-year extension reportedly worth $124 million that made him the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback to date. L.A. did so after trading for the two-time All-Pro corner, who previously won a pair of Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs.
With reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford on a new contract as well, the Rams are putting all of their chips in amid their latest Super Bowl window.
Read the full article here