Steelers' Will Howard Gives His Direct Thoughts On Browns Trading Myles Garrett To Rams

The Pittsburgh Steelers and rest of the NFL world were thrown for a loop on Monday when the Cleveland Browns decided to trade Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams. There have been consistent rumors about this potentially happening, specifically ever since the star edge rusher's contract was restructured to delay some of his guarantees. This completely changes things in the AFC North because the league's most dominant defensive player will no longer be in the division. However, Jared Verse will now be joining the fray as he was a part of the deal.

The Steelers will not have to worry about Verse, but it's hard to argue that Garrett leaving isn't something to be thankful for. He is a one-man wrecking crew who is still in the prime of his career. Now, he will head out West with the goal of winning a Super Bowl with Los Angeles. It certainly shakes up the landscape across the league as teams get ready to go through mandatory minicamps and Organized Team Activities (OTAs) sessions.

The quarterbacks in Pittsburgh will still be occupied with Verse twice a year, who is only 25 years of age and has plenty of good football left in him. Aaron Rodgers will be under center for the Steelers in 2026, but it is a couple of other signal-callers who could be tasked with evading Verse in the coming years if he happens to sign an extension in Cleveland.

On Monday, Will Howard was present for a Bank of America charity golf event. In attendance was SteelerNation's Brandon Wallace, who got a chance to be around for some media availability. When asked about the trade that shocked the NFL and its fans on Monday, the Steelers quarterback was a bit reserved at first, but then opened up about how it's nice that Garrett will no longer be in the AFC North.

"That was a big trade. You know, not really paying attention to it, but was just sitting, I think, in the hot tub when I saw it come across my phone," Howard said. "It's kind of crazy. Yeah, I mean not bad for us, you know, we don't have to play that beast every, twice every year. I mean, they're bringing in a great player in Jared Verse so it's going to create more challenges, but, you know, yeah, just looking at it, it'll be nice to not have to play that dude twice a year."

Sure, Verse is incredibly talented and will be a handful for Pittsburgh moving forward, but it's not unfair for Howard to say that he is happy that Garrett is now gone. It's not disrespectful to Verse because the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year has wreaked havoc ever since being drafted. He now will be doing that over in the NFC for the foreseeable future.

Another piece to this puzzle that Howard didn't talk about is the other compensation that the Browns ended up getting in return. Having an additional first-round pick in 2027 will allow Cleveland to get aggressive when potentially pursuing a signal-caller in the NFL Draft.

Howard is hoping that the Steelers won't be involved in that frenzy. He will have a chance to prove himself throughout training camp and the preseason, with the hopes of winning the backup job to be right behind Rodgers in case of an injury.

Steelers Won't Be Disappointed That Garrett Is Now With The Rams

Pittsburgh is going to have a tough time repeating as AFC North champions in 2026. Despite Verse's arrival, the departure of Garrett is a big deal, especially because there has been some reshuffling of the Steelers' offensive line recently. There are still talented pass rushers who will be playing for the Browns, but it's not a bad thing that Garrett was shipped off. He is an absolute menace on defense and now will be causing problems for the NFC West.

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