The San Francisco 49ers got some pretty bad news on Monday with the Cleveland Browns trading edge rusher Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams. It stinks for the Niners, but they can at least take solace in the fact the Seattle Seahawks are bigger losers from this move.
The entire NFC West is obviously hurt by this trade, as is the NFC as a whole. But if 49ers fans are being honest, the Seahawks and the Rams were the two favorites to win the NFC West going into next season no matter what.
That does not mean the Niners can’t win the division. They were agonizingly close to taking home the NFC West crown last season even if luck may have played a bit of a role in that.
But, realistically speaking, the path to the playoffs for the 2026 Niners was always going to have to go through the Wild Card. That does not change because of the Garrett trade, but now the Seahawks have to reckon with the fact they face an uphill climb to win the division.
The Hawks did not lose a ton of players from last year’s Super Bowl winning squad, but the Garrett trade absolutely means the Rams have leapfrogged Seattle in terms of talent.
Seattle may have the “The Dark Side” as they have dubbed its defensive unit, but Garrett has unlocked a whole new level of Sith powers for a Rams defense that was already pretty strong.
Of course, Los Angeles did have to part ways with one of its best young defenders in Jared Verse, so it'll lose a guy who was a key player. But getting Garrett in return more than makes up for that as he is effectively the most fearsome pass-rusher in the NFL.
The Niners don’t have to freak themselves out, though. Week 1 in Australia was always going to be a tough game to win, and that is even more true now that Garrett is in the fold. But if they can peak and play their best football later in the season when they face the Rams again, then they’d be more than content to split the two regular-season games with L.A.
It’s definitely not good news, but the Niners always faced an uphill climb if they wanted to win the NFC West.
The Seahawks now really face a tough path, thanks to this trade, so they are the biggest losers.
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