With the Browns trading defensive end Myles Garrett, the next question was whether cornerback Denzel Ward could be traded, too.
The team has made its position clear. (Then again, the team also consistently said it wouldn’t trade Garrett.) And G.M. Andrew Berry has said that it would be appropriate for Ward to speak for himself.
Ward has.
“I definitely still want to be here,” Ward told reporters at his charity softball game on Saturday. “Myles is a good friend of mine, a great teammate. Things aren’t lost, you know? It’s Ohio against the world. People can doubt us, but we’re going out there still trying to play our best ball and, you know, bring wins to the city.”
A year ago, Ward said that the mere fact that Garrett had asked to be traded had a “huge impact” on Ward.
The simple reality is that, even with Garrett setting a single-season sack record at 23.0, the Browns went 5-12. It was time to maximize value and continue to build for the future.
Ward’s future is secured through 2027. And, yes, the right offer would get the Browns to consider making a move. The Garrett trade proves it.
Every player on every NFL team eventually will be replaced. And very few players would be traded under no circumstances.
For now, Ward is still part of the team that made him the fourth overall pick in 2018. He will be until the Browns trade him, until he retires, or until he becomes a free agent and goes elsewhere.
Jared Verse and Dillon Gabriel were both wearing No. 8 at Browns practice this week, but that won’t be the case for long.
Verse wore No. 8 with the Rams, so it was no surprise to see the edge rusher take the field in the same number after this week’s trade. Gabriel wore the number last season, but Verse is higher in the team’s pecking order than a backup quarterback so it is also no surprise to learn that Gabriel will be the one changing his look.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that Gabriel and the Browns are waiting for the league to sign off on a change.
It’s not clear what needs to happen for that approval, but quarterbacks are limited to 0-19 and the Browns currently don’t have another number available in that range. The only one currently not assigned is No. 14, but that’s been retired for Otto Graham.
That’s not likely to be put back into circulation, so someone else will likely be switching their number as the Browns adjust to Verse’s arrival.
Yes, the Rams and defensive end Myles Garrett have a new deal.
As mentioned earlier, it’s a five-year contract, covering 2026 through 2030. It replaces the deal Garrett had signed in 2025 with the Browns, adding no new years.
Here are the full terms, per a source with knowledge of the contract:
1. Signing bonus: $35.7 million.
2. 2026 base salary: $1.3 million, fully guaranteed.
3. 2027 option bonus: $30.145 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in 2027.
4. 2027 base salary: $1.345 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in 2027.
5. 2027 per-game roster bonus: $510,000 total, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in 2027 (but must be earned).
6. 2028 option bonus: $19.49 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in 2027.
7. 2028 base salary: $1.345 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in 2027.
8. 2028 per-game roster bonus: $510,000 total, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed in 2027 (but must be earned).
9. 2029 option bonus: $21.49 million.
10. 2029 offseason roster bonus: $8 million.
11. 2029 base salary: $10 million.
12. 2029 per-game roster bonus: $510,000 total.
13. 2030 option bonus: $16.49 million.
14. 2030 offseason roster bonus: $8 million.
15. 2030 base salary: $15 million.
16. 2030 per-game roster bonus: $510,000 total.
The five-year deal has an average of $35.8 million at signing. It’s the same total payout from 2026 through 2030 as his prior contract with the Browns.
Of the total amount, $37 million is fully guaranteed at signing. Another $62 million is guaranteed for injury at signing. The payments become fully guaranteed in 2027.
In comparison to his prior deal, the guarantee drops in 2027 by $10.7 million. The 2028 guarantee increases by $7.2 million.
As a practical matter, it’s a three-year deal with team-held options for 2029 and 2030. The $8 million roster bonus in each season will force the Rams to make a quick decision.
The Browns signed free agent defensive end Benton Whitley, the team announced on Thursday.
Whitley is officially in his third NFL season out of Holy Cross.
In 2025, he spent time on the Buccaneers’ practice squad but did not play a regular-season game.
The Rams originally signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2022, and he spent time on their practice squad as a rookie.
He also has had stints with the Chiefs, Vikings and Giants.
Whitley, 27, has played six career games and has totaled a pass defensed and a fumble recovery. He has seen action on 16 defensive snaps and 74 on special teams in his career.
As the Rams worked through a trade for defensive end Myles Garrett, they didn’t have time to do a new contract. They now have.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Rams and Garrett have worked out a new deal. It’s a five-year deal covering 2026 through 2030, with available options through 2038. (The options are surely present for cap purposes.)
We’re in the process of tracking down the details. The key question is whether and to what extent the new-money APY will change. His latest deal set a new standard for non-quarterbacks, at $40 million per year. Since then, the bar has moved to $50 million.
The signing bonus is $35.7 million. The salary will be at least $1.3 million, pushing his minimum compensation package for 2026 to $37 million.
That exceeds the $31.5 million total compensation he was due to make under his prior deal by at least $5.5 million. (Of that amount, $1 million was in the form of per-game roster bonuses. The new deal possibly has per-game roster bonuses for 2026, too.)
The question is whether and to what extent the remaining guarantees were carried into the new deal. Apparently, the future guarantees have been reduced (if not eliminated).
Of course, the guarantees don’t really matter. After giving up Jared Verse, a first-, second-, and third-round pick to get Garrett, it’s not as if they’ll be cutting him after a year or two.
We’ll provide a full breakdown once we have the total numbers.
