Aftershocks in LA: How the Earthquake Trade Made SoFi a Nightmare.
Written By: Landon Pulmano
Contributor | Sideline Society Media
The earthquake hit on June 2nd, and the aftershocks are still rattling every front office from Seattle to San Francisco. The Los Angeles Rams have acquired Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns. By sending back Jared Verse, a 2027 first round pick, a 2028 second round pick, and a 2029 third round pick in what is being called one of the biggest trades in NFL history involving a defensive player. In return, they get the most dominant pass rusher on the planet, a player who set an NFL single season record with 23.0 sacks in 2025 and just won Defensive Player of the Year again. Reigning MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford, who led the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns last season, now shares a roster with the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, something no team in NFL history has ever had at once.
This is not just a blockbuster. It is a statement.
Les Snead has always treated draft picks as something to spend, not hoard, a philosophy that already delivered a Super Bowl LVI title. After falling one win short of the Super Bowl this past January, Snead decided good was not good enough. The Rams already added Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Chiefs this offseason, but that felt like filling a need. This feels like hunting a championship. Pairing Garrett with Byron Young and Kobie Turner gives the Rams a front nobody wants to face. Also over the past three years Garrett leads the NFL in sack rate while drawing chips or double teams on more than forty percent of his snaps, the highest rate of any defender in the league. He is about to make life worse for everyone else, this time with better teammates around him.
The NFC West has always been brutal, but this trade tilts it in a way the division has not felt since Aaron Donald was in his prime. One rival Seahawks analyst called it an earthquake that could swing the division their way. Seattle's offensive line is already shaky, and neither option on the roster is who you want lined up across from Garrett twice a year. San Francisco will not wait long to find out either. The Rams and 49ers open the 2026 season against each other in Melbourne, Australia, the league's first ever regular season game on Australian soil, then meet again in Week 14. Garrett turned role players into standouts in Cleveland, and he is joining a Rams front already tied for seventh in sacks and fourth in pressure rate league wide. They were already elite, and they just added the missing piece. Add an offense that led the NFL in scoring last season, and this is now a complete team built for February.
The message to the rest of the NFC is simple: the Rams intend to make the Super Bowl a home game at SoFi Stadium, and stopping them just got harder.
© 2026 Sideline Society Media. All original content, branding, and editorial work are protected. Third-party media is embedded for editorial purposes and remains the property of its respective rights holders.
