Los Angeles Rams fans know the drill by now: when Les Snead starts chasing a big name, it usually means something real is brewing.
The Rams general manager has built his reputation on swinging hard in blockbuster deals, and the pattern has been the same for years. He keeps pushing, keeps calling, and keeps working until another team finally gives him the opening he needs.
If that door never opens, he moves on. But when it does, Snead has a habit of landing the kind of player that changes everything.
That’s how the Rams got Matthew Stafford. That’s how they got Von Miller. And this offseason, that same approach brought Myles Garrett to Los Angeles.
Garrett, the Cleveland Browns’ face of the franchise and the Defensive Player of the Year, looked like the kind of player who would never realistically be available. Back in 2022, the Rams tried and failed to get the Carolina Panthers to engage on either Christian McCaffrey or Brian Burns. This time, Snead finally broke through.
NFL insider and analyst Peter Schrager spoke with Browns general manager Andrew Barry to get a clearer picture of how the deal came together. Barry said Cleveland wanted the usual things in a trade: value now, value later, and a partner it could trust. He also wanted to deal with a team that had already shown it was willing to make aggressive moves.
Snead fit that profile. He also went further than anyone else by agreeing to include 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse in the package. That was the piece that separated the Rams from the rest of the field, and it’s what made the Browns comfortable enough to move Garrett.
For Snead, this is just how he operates. He keeps working the phones, keeps trying to improve the roster, and keeps taking the kind of swings most front offices won’t even attempt.
Plenty of those calls go nowhere. Some probably end quickly.
But the ones that land are the ones that reshape a team.
A few months ago, the idea of the Rams landing Garrett would have sounded ridiculous. Now it’s done, and Rams fans are once again watching their general manager pull off one of his signature stunners.
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