The final box the Vikings had to check this offseason was hiring a new general manager. The news broke this past weekend that Seattle’s assistant GM Nolan Teasley would take over. Of course, deals in the NFL can always implode until they’re finalized. In this case, the Vikings made it official on Monday afternoon.

Vikings writer Rob Kleifield wrote on the team’s website, “A two-time Super Bowl-winning executive is the new Vikings General Manager. Minnesota on Monday named Nolan Teasley its new GM, ending a thorough, multiweek search process that began shortly after the 2026 NFL Draft and was led by the Vikings ownership group.”

The franchise fired GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on January 30. He had been in charge for four seasons, but the ownership wanted to go in a different direction. Vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski led the team throughout the offseason, navigating the Minnesota longship through the draft and free agency. The product you’ll get to see in September will mostly be built by him.

Teasley, Minnesota’s new top executive, spent over a decade in Seattle, working his way up the career ladder.

Team owner Mark Wilf is quoted on the website: “Nolan brings tremendous football acumen and a proven track record of success from the past 13 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. Under the tutelage of General Manager John Schneider, he was a part of nine playoff teams, three Super Bowl appearances and two championships.”

The last Super Bowl was won with quarterback Sam Darnold, who the Vikings let go to make room for J.J. McCarthy. That decision certainly backfired rather quickly.

More from Wilf: “He has a strong understanding of talent evaluation at the collegiate and professional levels, significant experience with building a consistently competitive roster through the draft, free agency and trades, and he brings a disciplined, process-driven approach to the job. Putting Nolan together with [Vikings Head Coach] Kevin O’Connell and [Executive Vice President of Football Operations] Rob Brzezinski gives us three strong leaders with complementary skillsets.”

Brzezinski will return to the second row. He’s one of the premier salary cap guys in the business and guided the Vikings with a steady hand over the past four months. Though he interviewed for the GM opening, he’ll return to his old job rather than depart, which is undoubtedly a win for the Vikes.

In the football department, head coach Kevin O’Connell will continue to be a strong voice in the building. All of that sounds a lot like the infamous Triangle of Authority. It remains to be seen how the responsibilities are shared.

Teasley has a football background and has been praised for his eye for talent. Having a GM with that scouting element on the resume was a priority for the Vikings after the experiment with Adofo-Mensah, who didn’t have that.

The Vikings hope Teasley can bring the Seahawks’ championship pedigree to the State of 10,000 Lakes. Owner Zygi Wilf is quoted: “Nolan understands schematics and player traits at a high level, and that knowledge earns him credibility with each coaching staff he’s been around. As an assistant general manager, he was involved in every aspect of the operation, so he knows what is required to build a championship team and a productive environment. We are confident this dynamic structure of Nolan, Kevin and Rob is the best outcome for the Minnesota Vikings.”

For now, Teasley has time to get acclimated. Other than the usual January or February GM hire, Teasley doesn’t have free agency and the draft to prepare. Of course, there are some contract situations he might have to address and talent acquisition never stops, but the roster for the upcoming season has been built for the most part.

The new employee also shared some words: “I am truly honored to join the Minnesota Vikings organization and grateful to the Wilf family for the opportunity to lead football operations for such a respected franchise. The Vikings have everything needed to compete at the highest level – a strong culture, great ownership, world-class facilities and an exceptional fan base. I look forward to working alongside Kevin O’Connell, Rob Brzezinski, our coaching staff, personnel department and the entire organization as we build a team Vikings fans can be proud of and one that competes for championships year after year.”

Teasley is set to make a major call next offseason, when the club has to make another quarterback decision. This time, hopefully a better one than the Darnold disaster.

Minnesota’s football future lies in the hands of the new general manager, Nolan Teasley.

Janik Eckardt is a German sports nerd, who likes numbers and stats. He chose the Vikings to be his … More about Janik Eckardt

India’s star shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty created history on Sunday as they defeated Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 in the men’s doubles final of the Singapore Open 2026.

Satwik and Chirag’s win has not only ended their two-year-long wait for a trophy but also made them the first Indian pair to win the men’s doubles event of the tournament.

The victory has come months before India starts its official campaign at the Asian Games 2026, significantly boosting the country’s chances of winning more medals in Aichi-Nagoya.

But how exactly will Satwik and Chirag’s win impact India’s run at the Asian Games? Take a look.

Brilliant run in Singapore

Before we talk about how Satwik and Chirag’s win has boosted India’s morale, let’s take a look at how their Singapore campaign unfolded.

Satwiksairaj and Chirag started their campaign in the Round of 32 with a hard-fought victory over the United States pair of Presley Smith and Zhang Yi Chen. The Indian duo had to dig deep after losing a marathon opening game 26-28 before bouncing back strongly to win the next two games 21-15, 21-13.

In the Round of 16, Satwik and Chirag faced Taiwan’s Yang Po-Han and Lee Jhe-Huei. After taking the first game 21-15, the Indians dropped the second 11-21 but once again showed their resilience, sealing the decider 21-18 to advance to the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinal against Malaysia’s Kang Khai Xing and Aaron Tai proved another stern test. Satwik and Chirag lost the opening game 19-21 but responded in dominant fashion, winning the next two games 21-17 and 21-13 to secure a place in the last four.

Their best performance of the tournament came in the semifinal against South Korea’s Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho. The Indian pair controlled the contest from start to finish, registering a straight-games 21-19, 21-18 victory to move into the final.

In the championship match, Satwik and Chirag met Indonesia’s Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Fajar Alfian. After conceding the opening game 18-21, the Indians staged yet another comeback, winning the next two games 21-17 and 21-16 to lift the title.

How have Indian shuttlers performed in recent times?

Indian badminton has experienced mixed results over the past two years. While Indian shuttlers have won titles, they have also missed several opportunities in major tournaments. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the Thailand Open in 2024 and recently claimed the Singapore Open title, ending a lengthy wait for a World Tour crown. Lakshya Sen added the Australian Open title in 2025, while Ayush Shetty won the US Open in the same year.

At the same time, India recorded a number of runner-up finishes. Satwik and Chirag finished second at the Thailand Open 2026, while several Indian players reached finals without securing titles. Established stars such as P. V. Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth have struggled to consistently convert promising runs into tournament victories, leaving India short of the success many had expected.

India’s successful yet underwhelming run at the 2023 Asian Games

India recorded its best-ever badminton performance at the 2023 Asian Games, returning with a historic gold, silver and bronze medal. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the country’s first badminton gold medallists at the Games in men’s doubles, while the men’s team secured a maiden silver medal and HS Prannoy clinched bronze in men’s singles.

Despite these achievements, the campaign was not without disappointment. All three medals came in the men’s category, while India’s women’s contingent failed to reach the podium. Established stars such as P. V. Sindhu could not replicate their past success, leaving India without a medal in women’s singles, doubles or team events.

As a result, while the overall medal haul marked a significant milestone, the lack of contributions from the women’s side made the campaign feel incomplete and highlighted areas that need improvement ahead of the 2026 Asian Games.

Satwik-Chirag on Singapore Open win

After winning the Singapore Open title, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty thanked the fans for their unwavering support and described the tournament as a special one in their careers. The Indian duo said they had experienced disappointments in the past but felt this triumph would remain memorable.

They also praised the atmosphere throughout the week, noting that the stadium was packed from the opening round regardless of who was playing. Calling it one of the best venues on the badminton circuit, Satwik and Chirag expressed their gratitude to the passionate Singapore crowd for creating a fantastic environment and supporting the players throughout the tournament.

Another soccer victory celebration turned dangerous over the weekend, this one in London.

Just hours after nearly 800 people were detained, and one person was killed, in Paris after Paris Saint-Germain won the UEFA Champions League, six people were stabbed in London during Arsenal’s Premier League title parade on Sunday.

Arsenal, whom PSG beat on Saturday for the UEFA title, won the Premier League last month, and their victory parade was held Sunday in England, but it resulted in 24 people winding up in custody.

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Arsenal players celebrate with the Premier League trophy on open-top buses parading through Islington, north London, after winning the club’s first Premier League title in 22 years on May 31, 2026. (Phil Lewis/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)

One of the people who were stabbed, a man in his 20s, suffered life-threatening injuries but is now in stable condition, authorities said in a release. Most of the victims were not seriously hurt.

“I would like to thank the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of Arsenal supporters who attended the day to celebrate safely and responsibly,” Commander Stuart Bell said in a statement.

Arsenal fans celebrate on the streets after the Football Premier League champions parade through Islington, London. The club was celebrating its first Premier League title in 22 years.The club was celebrating its first Premier League title in 22 years. (Phil Lewis/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

MEDICAL CART CARRYING INJURED SOCCER PLAYER RUNS INTO TEAMMATE IN INSANE SCENE IN ECUADORIAN LEAGUE

“However, we had been clear that violence and other criminality would not be tolerated and unfortunately there were pockets of anti-social behaviour and incidents where officers needed to intervene, including assaults on their colleagues. As the evening progressed and the majority of the crowds made their way home, there was sadly further violence, including gang-related incidents. Officers were swiftly on scene to each stabbing and investigations are ongoing.”

Authorities said four police vans were also damaged during the celebration.

10 of the 24 people arrested were placed in custody on suspicion of assaulting police — one officer suffered a slash wound to the hand and another was hit on the head, both by objects thrown. Three were arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, and three on drug charges.

Police and Arsenal supporters wait for the start of a parade celebrating Arsenal’s men’s Premier League title outside Emirates Stadium in London on May 31, 2026. It is Arsenal’s first Premier League title since the 2003-04 season. (Toby Shepheard/AFP via Getty Images)

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It was Arsenal’s first Premier League title since 2004.

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Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (ANI Photo)

NEW DELHI: India’s star men’s doubles badminton pair, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, ended a 742-day wait for a BWF World Tour title by winning the Singapore Open. The former world No. 1 duo fought back from a game down to beat Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 in the final. It was their third Super 750 title and a reward after a difficult period that included injuries, four final losses and eight semifinal exits.Despite not winning a title for over two years, Chirag rejected suggestions that the pair had become inconsistent.“I wouldn’t call it inconsistency. I think we, on the contrary, were quite consistent. To be calling number three in the world inconsistent, I think everybody else beyond number one should stop playing badminton,” Chirag said.He explained that injuries and time away from competition affected their rhythm, not their quality. The pair even dropped to world No. 27 in June 2025 before climbing back to No. 3 by November.“Yes, obviously, everybody enters the court to win. Likewise for us, we wanted to go out there and win titles. But it wasn’t like we weren’t able to, and it wasn’t that we were playing badly or anything. It’s just that maybe some days luck wasn’t on our side.”Satwik also pointed to injuries as a major challenge but said they are a normal part of elite sport. “It’s part and parcel of the game. It’s not like nobody will have injuries,” he said.The Singapore Open win came after the pair voiced disappointment over the lack of attention given to badminton achievements, including India’s Thomas Cup bronze medal. Chirag welcomed the increased coverage but said the sport deserves regular recognition.The duo also credited coaches Mathias Boe and Tan Kim Her for helping with match planning and tactical preparation. Looking ahead to the World Championships and the road to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, confidence is high.“On a good day, we can beat anyone,” Satwik said.For now, the pair are focused on maintaining their form, with Chirag saying: “Right now it’s going well. Fingers crossed.”

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein (55), Aaron Wiggins (21), and Chet Holmgren (7) watch the closing moments of their loss to the San Antonio Spurs during the second half of Game 7 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs series, Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

OKLAHOMA CITY — Chet Holmgren attempted two shots in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. He absorbed plenty of shots from critics afterward.

And the Oklahoma City Thunder spent Day 1 of the offseason making clear that they support him.

If the ballyhooed matchup in the West finals was Holmgren vs. San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, then it was a one-sided one. Wembanyama had the superior numbers in the series and the Spurs wound up prevailing, while Holmgren was barely a factor offensively with the Thunder season on the line Saturday night.

READ: Wembanyama, Spurs dethrone Thunder in Game 7 to reach NBA Finals

“Every minute Chet Holmgren’s been on the team, we’ve been the 1 seed in the Western Conference,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Sunday, when the team gathered for end-of-season meetings. “And it wasn’t the case before Chet was healthy.”

Holmgren had likely his best season, with career-highs of 17.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He made All-NBA for the first time, All-Defensive for the first time as well, got his first All-Star nod, plus was second in the Defensive Player of the Year balloting.

He finished second in that voting behind Wembanyama — just like he did for Rookie of the Year in 2024, and just like the Thunder did in these West finals.

“We need Chet. We need Chet Holmgren,” Thunder guard and back-to-back reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Before Chet was here, we weren’t who we are today. We didn’t have the success we had today. When he’s the best version of himself, we’re the best version of ourselves and it’s no secret.”

It’s easy to envision the West finals matchup — Thunder vs. Spurs — becoming a rivalry for years to come. Both teams have young, obviously highly talented corps, and now they have the ingredient that all rivalries truly need, that being a playoff matchup, to help provide fuel.

READ: NBA: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tips his cap after Game 7 loss

“I definitely think that they’re different in terms of I don’t think there’s another team that has their play style, their personnel,” Holmgren said. “They’re unique in that way. You can’t just kind of play like a base normal, ‘this is what we kind of do on an average Tuesday night’ type of thing.”

And while the outside world might have looked at Holmgren as one of the reasons why Game 7 didn’t go Oklahoma City’s way, the rest of the Thunder disagreed.

Gilgeous-Alexander, for example, pointed to himself — and that was after he had a brilliant 35-point effort in the deciding game against San Antonio. He even went as far as to describe a second straight MVP season as “a failure.”

“I failed at my goal,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I didn’t achieve what I wanted to achieve, but through my experiences, I learned the most about myself and I make the greatest amount of increases I have in my career when I fail at my goal and don’t get what I want. And I look at this no different. I didn’t get where I wanted to go this season. There’s a reason for that. Now I have to look at that reason and try to make sure it never happens again.”

Following his impressive victory over Juno Nakatani, Naoya Inoue is being linked to a showdown with Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, and fellow pound-for-pound contender Shakur Stevenson has shared his prediction for the proposed fight.

Inoue defended his undisputed super-bantamweight crown with a unanimous decision victory over Nakatani at the Tokyo Dome a month ago, strengthening his claim to the pound-for-pound number one spot, particularly after Oleksandr Usyk’s close shave against Rico Verhoeven.

With the Japanese star having cleaned out the 122lb division, fight fans are now discussing the prospect of a clash against unified super-flyweight champion Rodriguez before a planned move to featherweight.

Speaking to Matchroom Boxing, WBO super-lightweight champion Stevenson believes ‘Bam’ could prove to be Inoue’s ‘Kryptonite’, highlighting that Inoue has been knocked down by the left-handed Luis Nery and that Rodriguez, who is also a southpaw, possesses the power to floor the unbeaten sensation.

“I like Bam, I can’t go against Bam. I know Bam, Bam is my guy. I think that Inoue is a great fighter but I think that Bam may be his Kryptonite.

“I have seen him [Inoue] get dropped by a southpaw and I think that Bam punches hard enough where he could drop him too.”

Rodriguez is already set to move up from super-flyweight when he challenges for Antonio Vargas’ WBA bantamweight world title at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona next weekend. If he is successful, it is believed that the undefeated American will call for his shot at Inoue in the aftermath, moving up one more division to make it happen.

Promoter Eddie Hearn has said preliminary talks have taken place and that his man Rodriguez is more than willing to travel to Japan for the showdown.

Naomi Osaka revealed another new look at this year’s French Open, this time for her blockbuster night session match against world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka under the lights on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Four-time grand slam champion Osaka’s outfits have been the talk of the tournament at Roland Garros, and this time she revealed a slightly altered design that saw the section of sparkly gold sequins continue into a flowing gold train, which was then removed before the start of the match.

Following her jellyfish-inspired walk-on at the season’s Australian Open and her show-stopping collaboration with Beyonce’s regular couturier Robert Wun at May’s Met Gala in New York, Osaka has revealed a series of outfits inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The Japanese star walked onto court wearing a flowing black skirt ahead of her first-round match against Laura Seigemund, before revealing a sparkling gold sequined playing dress that was designed to look like the Eiffel Tower at night.

For her second-round match against Donna Vekic, Osaka retained the gold playing dress but topped it with a metallic gold bomber jacket and an ivory train reminiscent of a wedding dress.

Osaka hinted that she had an additional look prepared in the event of a night match, with her fourth-round encounter against world No 1 Sabalenka becoming the first women’s singles match to be scheduled in the night session in three years.

The French Open has faced criticism in recent years for almost exclusively scheduling men’s singles matches in the prime-time slot since its introduction in 2021, with Osaka-Sabalenka ending a run of 33 consecutive men’s matches.

”You guys keep asking and I keep providing, like why are we still asking?” Osaka replied with a laugh when asked if she would have a “night” look prepared. “I mean, I think it’s fun, like and every silhouette is inspired by something different.”

The 28-year-old Osaka also explained that her custom Nike kits are planned and designed up to 18 months in advance, with this particular design requiring at least four different fittings before arriving at Roland Garros, where she is through to the fourth-round for the first time.

“I have a lot of meetings with Nike and I don’t think people realise how much time and like effort they put into every outfit,” she said. “They plan it like a year and a half in advance, and that’s like minimum. There’s a lot of effort that goes into it.”

Osaka, an introvert, has said she uses fashion to “talk through my clothes” and says walk-ons at the grand slam tournaments are “the only time that I possibly feel like I’m an entertainer” and said there’s a “community that has been built over my on-court outfits”.

Not everyone is a fan, though. After her defeat to Osaka in the first round, Laura Siegemund questioned how much time her opponent was allowed to take to change her clothes and claimed the former world No 1 was receiving special treatment.

“I couldn’t care less,” Siegemund told TNT Sports of Osaka’s catwalk-like entrance. “I come here to play tennis, not to put on a fashion show. And if others want to put on a fashion show, then they should go ahead and do it. That’s totally fine with me.

“I find something else problematic. In our sport, at every tournament they count every second, right up until you’ve unpacked your water bottle. But she can have a minute and a half to change. I have a problem with that, because these rules simply exist and they are what they are – every second is now being watched so closely for us.

“And I also think that with performances like these, every second should be accounted for. That’s the only thing regarding the rules that I don’t think is okay and where, once again, bigger names are treated differently.”

Odell Beckham Jr. signed with the New York Giants on Monday, marking a reunion seven years after the team traded him to the Cleveland Browns.

There’s no guarantee Beckham will be on the 53-man roster when September rolls around. For now, he’ll be added depth to a team that may not have Malik Nabers back before Week 1 following a knee injury he suffered last season.

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Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants celebrates after scoring a 10-yard touchdown pass against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Nov. 12, 2018. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Beckham also sat out the entire 2025 season as he worked to get in shape for an NFL roster. He played nine games for the Miami Dolphins in 2024, making nine catches for 55 yards.

“The thing I love about Odell is right now he’s in such a good place in terms of his humility,” Giants head coach John Harbaugh said in April when Beckham worked out for the team before the draft. “He wants to be part of a team. He wants to contribute. He wants to help the young guys. That’s what he’s talking about doing. He still thinks he has some juice, and he looked good in the workout. You still got to be able to play. It’s not going to be the old Odell. It’s going to be a different version, the 2.0 Odell I guess you would say.”

Harbaugh coached Beckham when the two were with the Baltimore Ravens in 2023. Beckham played 14 games that year, coming off a torn ACL he suffered in Super Bowl LVI with the Los Angeles Rams. He had 35 catches for 565 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games in 2023.

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New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. reacts during the third quarter against the New Orleans Saints at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sept. 30, 2018. (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)

The Giants selected Beckham with the No. 12 pick of the 2014 draft out of LSU. He quickly emerged as one of the most dynamic receivers in the league and his numbers were on par with Jerry Rice before injuries and general disarray plagued his time with the team.

Beckham made one of the greatest catches in NFL history, battling through a pass interference penalty to make a wild touchdown grab against the Dallas Cowboys.

He had 390 catches for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns while with Big Blue for the first five years of his career. He was a Pro Bowler three times and the 2014 Offensive Rookie of the Year.

For all his faults, Beckham was named one of the top 100 Giants players of all time by an independent committee, according to the team.

Right now, he would join a team that has Nabers, Darius Slayton, Calvin Austin III, Darnell Mooney and rookie Malachi Fields on the depth chart.

The team also added Braxton Berrios to the roster.

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. makes a catch despite pressure from Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Isaiah Johnson in the first quarter. (Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com Syndication)

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If the Jaxson Dart-Abdul Carter controversy wasn’t going to make training camp fun, having a veteran like Beckham around certainly will.

The Super Bowl favorites just got better. The Los Angeles Rams are at it again.

In a blockbuster move, the Rams are trading for reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, multiple sources tell CBS Sports. In exchange for the future Hall of Fame pass rusher, the Cleveland Browns will receive former Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-rounder and a third-round pick in 2029. 

The seismic move takes place on June 1, an important accounting day on the NFL calendar. Garrett, who set the NFL single-season sack record with 23 sacks this past season, agreed to a contract restructure in March that pushed option bonus payments from March into late summer. Now the Browns can spread his $41.09 million dead cap hit across two seasons instead of absorbing it all in 2026 by doing the deal after 4 p.m. Eastern on June 1.

This is a trade without a modern precedent. Garrett is coming off a career year and just won the top defensive player award for the second time in three years. Twice, he has earned the title of highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history in his nine seasons with the Browns as the former top pick in the 2017 draft. He is well on his way to becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Adding Garrett makes the Rams the most formidable team in the NFL on paper, and it continues a busy offseason for a Sean McVay team that finished as the NFC runner-up.

Ahead of free agency, the Rams traded a first-, third-, fifth- and sixth-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie before signing him on an extension that made him the highest-paid corner in the league. They then used their other 2026 first-rounder to take Alabama QB Ty Simpson, a luxury pick for L.A. that sets up the franchise for what it hopes will be a seamless quarterback transition.

And not to forget the reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford, who less than two weeks ago officially signed his extension worth $55 million in new money. Stafford, 38, essentially continues on a year-to-year deal with the team.

All this comes as the franchise is set to host Super Bowl LXI in February at SoFi Stadium. The Rams won Super Bowl LVI in their building following the 2021 season, and now they have a game wrecker in Garrett added to their arsenal for this title run.

What it means for the Browns 

Cleveland is trading away one of the franchise’s all-time greats, who is arguably the most impactful non-quarterback in the league today. But before getting into what Cleveland is missing, let’s look at what the Browns are adding.

Verse was the 19th pick in the 2024 draft and easily won the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award that season with the Rams. Though he has just 12 sacks through two seasons, Verse ranks fifth among all players in quarterback pressures since 2024 with 143, trailing only Garrett, Danielle Hunter, Micah Parsons and Josh Hines-Allen in that category according to Next Gen Stats.

While Garrett’s deal averages $40 million per year, Verse has a cap hit of just $4.1 million this season thanks to his rookie contract. He is not extension-eligible until after this year at the earliest. There is significant cash and cap savings in sending away one of the best players in the sport, but the Browns are getting a promising replacement who is five years younger.

Along with Verse, there are three picks, including a first-round selection next year, which can now help the team potentially secure a franchise quarterback in 2027. Browns GM Andrew Berry has done well in the draft each of the past two years, earning early praise for this year’s class while taking the top defensive rookie last year in Carson Schwesinger, along with Mason Graham, Quinshon Judkins and Harold Fannin Jr.

The haul for Garrett is substantial, and it must be. In a trade not involving Garrett, a player of Verse’s caliber, age and contract would likely yield a first-round pick and then some. The combination of Verse plus the picks can reasonably add up to at least three first-rounders. When the Raiders traded Khalil Mack 18 months after he was named the league’s top defensive player, they received two first-round picks, a third-round pick, and a sixth-round pick, while sending a second-round pick and a conditional fifth-round pick.

Just last year, the Packers sent two first-rounders and then-29-year-old Kenny Clark to Dallas to acquire Micah Parsons and then make him the highest-paid player in the league.

But it is impossible to construe the 2026 Cleveland Browns being better without Garrett than with him, and losing him is a significant blow for the team’s prospects this upcoming season, regardless of the return. The Browns have a quarterback battle between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders that may yield a winner later this month under new head coach Todd Monken.

The Browns have won just eight games since going to the playoffs in the 2023 season. After a putrid 3-14 season in 2024, Garrett demanded a trade out of Cleveland during Super Bowl week. That ended when he signed a record four-year, $160 million deal the following month, and he delivered with 23 sacks in 2025 to set a new record.

Then came March, when the Browns adjusted Garrett’s contract to pay his option bonuses just a week before the start of the regular season, rather than 15 days after the new league year. Garrett’s pay did not change a cent, but it did make trading Garrett at this point in the calendar far more digestible for the Browns. The contract tweak lowered what would have otherwise been a $64.5 million dead cap hit in 2026 by dealing Garrett. Now that it’s past June 1, the $40 million dead cap hit can be spread over this year and next.

Behind the scenes, at the time, the Browns were adamant they were not trading Garrett. When Berry spoke at the league meetings in late March, he took it a step further.

“Myles is a career Brown,” Berry said then. “He is one of the faces of our organization. I think we’ve been very clear both past and present in terms of our goals.”

The Browns are now going back on that. The five-time first-team All-Pro who has had double-digit sacks in every season since his second year could retire now and be in the Hall of Fame within five to seven years. But as he stated in his 2025 trade request, his “goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl.”

There is little question he will get that chance starting right away.

What it means for the Rams 

Eff them picks, right? Rams GM Les Snead famously went seven years without taking a player in the first round of the draft thanks to this philosophy. That strategy ultimately netted him veterans like Stafford, Brandin Cooks and Jalen Ramsey.

But Snead broke his streak in 2024 by taking Verse before trading out of the first round in 2025 with a deal with the Falcons that couldn’t be passed up. That draft-day trade last year gave the Rams the ability to make the move for McDuffie ahead of free agency and still have the 13th overall selection in this year’s draft.

And with an aging Stafford, a QB-rich 2027 draft class and the belief they won’t be picking anywhere close to the top of that draft, the Rams took Simpson to lock in their succession plan.

Though the Rams mulled trading for A.J. Brown this offseason, they decided to keep their assets and move forward with veteran receiver Davante Adams and Puka Nacua, who is also due a major-money extension this offseason that will eclipse the $40 million-per-year mark.

L.A. has been able to deal draft picks like this for several reasons. Owner Stan Kroenke has deep pockets to pay guaranteed money to veteran players. Snead is unafraid to send picks for proven blue-chip players. The team’s location makes it a magnet for free agents. And McVay is a force multiplier as a coach.

By 2021, the Rams had already sent two first-round picks to Jacksonville for Ramsey when the team sent two future first-round picks for Stafford. At the trade deadline, Snead dealt a second- and third-round pick to Denver to secure future Hall of Famer Von Miller. Shortly after, he signed Odell Beckham Jr. to a one-year deal to go with a young Cooper Kupp. That team would beat the Bengals and secure the franchise’s first Super Bowl since moving back to Los Angeles.

Now Snead has dealt future picks for an All-Pro corner in McDuffie, still has Stafford, has the veteran Adams to go along with the young Nacua and just dealt for a Hall of Fame pass rusher in Garrett as SoFi prepares to host the Super Bowl five years later. Of course, there is no Aaron Donald this time around.

Even at age 30, Garrett has the league’s best get-off, and he now joins Chris Shula’s defense in the most competitive division in football. The Rams play a quarter of their games against the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks and the perennially contending 49ers.

This is the sort of blockbuster that can only be made in Hollywood.