Why Rams Refused to Speak to Myles Garrett Before Browns Trade Revealed in New NFL Rumors

The Los Angeles Rams played their cards close to the vest before they pulled off their blockbuster trade for star pass-rusher Myles Garrett.

According to a new report from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Sarah Barshop, Mike Reiss, Daniel Oyefusi and Tim McManus, the Rams declined to speak with Garrett before the deal came together.

In terms of his talent, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year is a sure thing, so there wasn't any uncertainty there. Los Angeles also had a desire to keep a tight lid on negotiations when it was set to include a talented young player, Jared Verse, in the outgoing package.

"The Rams didn't want anything — not even a phone call — to jeopardize the deal," per ESPN. "A source said the Rams wanted to make sure they could tell Verse in person that he was going to be traded."

The team had every reason to assume Garrett would prefer going from the Cleveland Browns to a franchise that has been a consistent winner in recent seasons.

"What does it realistically look like to be a winner now? And to have an opportunity to do that immediately, that was an opportunity that was just too difficult to pass up," he said in his introductory press conference.

Once the Rams worked out the particulars of the swap with Cleveland, it was all pretty straightforward. Publicizing their pursuit of a player as good as Garrett risked doing more harm than good.

"The inner circle has to be less than more," one Rams source said to ESPN. "You make a point to omit information. If this isn't happening until June 1, it just becomes a distraction if it gets out."

Les Snead's experience for executing marquee moves certainly helped the general manager in this regard. Not all teams would have the luxury of having Garrett out of the loop this much while remaining supremely confident he'd welcome the trade.