A.J. Brown, Myles Garrett, Jared Verse: Inside the NFL's June 1 blockbuster trades

playRich Eisen on Myles Garrett trade: 'The Rams are not messing around' (1:27) Leave it to the NFL to turn a day long known in league circles for accounting into one teeming with tension -- and a manifestation of Super Bowl hopes for multiple teams spread from coast to coast. At 4:01 p.m. ET on June 1 every year, NFL teams can prorate the dead salary cap hit of a player's contract over two years if trading or cutting that player. This year's date fell on a Monday. But this was hardly a routine start to an offseason week, thanks to back-to-back blockbuster trades consummated hours apart: One expected for months and one that sent shockwaves through the league. The Los Angeles Rams were at center stage ... again. They've made massive deals for the likes of Von Miller, Matthew Stafford and Trent McDuffie, and their latest move might be the biggest. General manager Les Snead, known as one of the league's most aggressive trade snipers, was savoring the moment last Monday. The Rams were about to finalize the trade for surefire Hall of Famer Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns. While waiting to connect with Garrett later that day, Snead contemplated during a quiet moment at his office, as months of legwork culminated in a stark realization: "We just got the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year," Snead recalled his thinking in the moment to ESPN. "And really it's about how someone has to affect the game on Sundays to win that award." While the Rams had kept their plans with Cleveland under wraps, the New England Patriots were long attached to a trade for Philadelphia Eagles receiver A.J. Brown that would finalize shortly after 4 p.m. ET. Patriots headquarters were business-like that day, but one team source couldn't help but think of his coach, Mike Vrabel, who got the player he coveted. "[Brown's] probably been in the head coach's mind for a long time," the source said. "Far before [the trade]." As for the Eagles: The divorce from Brown on June 1 symbolized a fresh start for quarterback Jalen Hurts and the rest of the offense. That Philadelphia stretched the trade to June 1 -- effectively saving around $27 million of dead salary cap space this year in the process -- while gaining first- and fifth-round picks for Brown was considered a win in league circles. Emotions spilled through other parts of the league. Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry felt the urgency, finalizing the trade from Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, where the Browns were hosting a foundation charity event that day. The deal was basically done, but Berry was coordinating with the Rams while interacting with Browns officials, coaches and players at the event, preparing to address the media once the news broke. He had made peace with the trade, which garnered a huge haul for Cleveland (two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Jared Verse and three draft picks) but left the team without the game's best pass rusher. Berry finally exhaled on the way home from Akron that night. All this set the stage for the NFL's latest headline-grabbing day, one that sources indicate teams could lean into going forward. Each of the June 1 trades have their own unreported unknowns and special peculiarities about them, and more than 15 coaches, players, executives and scouts spoke to ESPN about how the transactions went from idea to execution for the Eagles, Patriots, Rams and Browns. Jump to: Eagles' haul | Patriots' patience Rams' plans | Browns' future Is this just the beginning? On June 1, three of the NFL's star players in Jared Verse, Myles Garrett and A.J. Brown found themselves reporting to new teams. AP Photo, Getty ImagesEagles | 'A first-round pick is a first-round pick'The Eagles thought Brown might finish his career in Philadelphia when they signed him to a three-year, $94 million extension in April 2024. The Super Bowl run that followed only strengthened the idea that the Brown-Eagles partnership had some staying power -- so what if he pulled out a book on the sideline or shined the occasional light on the offense's inefficiencies? But the frustrations that sometimes bubbled to the surface appeared more frequently in 2025, whether it was via a cryptic social media post amid a 4-0 start or when he called his situation a "s--- show" during a livestream. Brown, 28, is driven by winning and had hoped to create a Patriots-like dynasty in Philadelphia, but is also chasing a Hall of Fame career. He wants to be a central part of the offense and a catalyst for the winning, which wasn't always the case over the past couple of seasons. A good bit of his angst stemmed from the play of Hurts, league sources said, in part because of Hurts' perceived reluctance to target Brown on tight-window throws against zone coverage. &#8226 Best, worst offseason moves: AFC | NFC &#8226 FPI rankings | Ranking top upgrades &#8226 Free agent class ranks | Draft grades &#8226 Schedule release | Coach hirings | More Once considered best friends, Brown said the

A.J. Brown, Myles Garrett, Jared Verse: Inside the NFL's June 1 blockbuster trades

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