Myles Garrett is the Rams' latest prize in a decade of aggressive moves by Snead and McVay

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For well over a decade now, general manager Les Snead and the Los Angeles Rams have consistently pulled off the aggressive, audacious moves that every NFL fan wishes their team would make.

Their latest deal is among the biggest and the riskiest — and it's totally their style.

Myles Garrett walked into the Rams' training complex in Woodland Hills on Tuesday after LA gave up budding star Jared Verse and three high draft picks to complete one of the NFL's biggest trades in recent seasons.

“To acquire a player like this, these things don’t come up often,” coach Sean McVay said.

Yet this bold deal for arguably the greatest pass rusher of this generation is only the latest in the line of blockbuster trades engineered by Snead. In the past 10 years alone, he has maneuvered to get Jared Goff, Matthew Stafford, Jalen Ramsey, Von Miller, Trent McDuffie, Brandin Cooks and other veterans for trade prices that would have been too steep for many front offices.

The Rams have spent a decade chasing rings with an urgency that screams “win now,” but is actually rooted in an organizational confidence that McVay's coaching ability will make up for the sacrifices necessary in draft capital and veteran talent.

“You’re always threading that needle for sustainability, trying to win consistently,” Snead said Tuesday. “But it’s a hard one to thread.”

McVay is all in on the Rams' organizational urgency, since the coach is often the most aggressive voice in Snead's ear to get big deals done: “I'm not the most patient person,” McVay said with a smirk.

“To be able to add players like (Garrett) is so rare,” McVay added. “We feel really fortunate that this feels very similar to when we were fortunate enough to acquire a player like Matthew Stafford. Things like this don’t present themselves, and we wanted to be aggressive.”

These opportunities might be rare, but the Rams have seized a whole lot more of them than other teams — and they were already a top Super Bowl contender even before they landed Garrett.

Snead addressed Los Angeles' primary weakness three months ago by acquiring McDuffie, making him the NFL's highest-paid cornerback and re-pairing him with free-agent signee Jaylen Watson, his longtime Chiefs teammate.

But even with a defensive line featuring four above-average players all still on their rookie contracts, Snead and McVay wanted to improve.

The GM made contact with Browns counterpart Andrew Berry after the team adjusted Garrett's contract in a way that signaled a deal was possible for the All-Pro who had just set the NFL's single-season sacks record.

“Andrew and I have a good relationship, (and) we like talking football a good bit,” Snead said. “So I would pester him a little bit, probably jokingly at first. Kept doing that, and then we began talking a little more seriously.”

Snead hoped to do the deal only with picks, both before and after the current draft. Berry wanted Verse, the budding young star and the only first-round pick that Snead had actually made between quarterbacks Goff (2016) and Ty Simpson (2026).

Although both Snead and McVay claim they were reluctant to part with Verse, the Rams finally agreed with the backing of owner Stan Kroenke, who has been fully supportive of his front office's uncommon urgency.

Garrett was eager to join this franchise's lineage of superstar pass rushers stretching from the Fearsome Foursome to Aaron Donald. But he also agreed to the trade because after nine seasons in Cleveland, he finally wanted to play for a consistent contender.

That's what the Rams have been ever since McVay took over in 2017 — racking up eight winning seasons, seven playoff berths, four NFC West titles, three conference title game appearances, two Super Bowl berths and one ring.

“It just came down to the timing of everything," Garrett said. “What does it look like to be a winner now, and to have the opportunity to do that immediately? That was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

The Rams' aggression doesn't just apply to trades: Snead and McVay have also shown no hesitation to drop good players and franchise icons when they deem it necessary, either for reasons financial or competitive.

They've released Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp and star running back Todd Gurley, and they traded Goff and receiver Robert Woods before the contract extensions they had received from the Rams had even started.

Those moves often feel heartless to fans, and players like Goff and Kupp have expressed public dismay about the way Snead and McVay moved on from them. But everyone eventually seems to understand that this is how the Rams do business.

That includes Woods, a stalwart five-year contributor and a locker-room leader on McVay's early teams after signing as a free agent in 2017.

The Southern California native hurt his knee in practice midway through the 2021 season, forcing him to miss the Rams' Super Bowl championship run — and Snead traded him to Tennessee a month after the trophy was raised.

Woods bounced around the NFL for four more seasons before retiring earlier this year — and he quickly returned to the Rams as an assistant coach.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Los Angeles Rams defensive end Myles Garrett pose for a photo during a press conference following the NFL football team's practice, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Woodland Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay speaks to the media during a press conference following the NFL football team's practice, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Woodland Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Rams defensive end Myles Garrett smiles during a press conference following the NFL football team's practice, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Woodland Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

From left, Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead, left, defensive end Myles Garrett, and head coach Sean McVay pose for a photo during a press conference following the NFL football team's practice, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Woodland Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan overcame Australian spin challenge on a tricky wicket to win the third and final one-day international by four wickets and clinch the series 2-1 on Thursday.

Pakistan had to fight hard on a turning wicket to reach 161-6 in 41.5 overs after Australia had crashed to its lowest ODI total in Pakistan and got bowled out for 157 in 42 overs.

All-rounder Shadab Khan, who had earlier picked up 2-28, made unbeaten 29 while Abdul Samad was 18 not out to earn Pakistan its third successive ODI win in a bilateral series against Australia.

On pitches tailor-made for spinners, Australia won the second game by 41 runs at the same venue on Tuesday while Pakistan won the first match at Rawalpindi last week by five wickets.

“It was a complete team effort throughout the series,” said Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, who took 3-30 and was splendid with both the new and old ball. “The conditions were tough for the batters, but every run counted and the players put in a great effort … all of our bowlers executed their plans well, and the credit goes to them.”

Left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann (3-38) had pushed Australia’s bid when he clean bowled top-scorer Babar Azam for 40 in the 30th over and Pakistan slumped to 6-112.

Babar batted resolutely for 84 balls in nearly two hours and struck only three boundaries before he was undone by Kuhnemann’s brilliant delivery that spun away enough to hit the off stump.

But Shadab and Samad both showed plenty of patience on an abrasive pitch as Australia couldn’t get the breakthrough before Shadab smashed Adam Zampa to long-on boundary for winning runs.

“A bit like the first game, we were just too many runs short,” Australian captain Josh Inglis said referring to Australia getting bowed out for 200 in the first game. “I thought the bowlers and the fielding group, in particular, made a great effort to put us in a position to potentially win the game, but it wasn’t to be in the end.”

Australian middle-order crumbled against Afridi and leg-spin of Abrar Ahmed (2-19) despite Inglis scoring a gritty 65 off 71 balls after he had won the toss and opted to bat first.

Inglis’ second successive half century seemed to keep Australia on track for a challenging total but none of the other batters could score more than 19 as the visitors lost their last seven wickets for 38 runs.

Inglis replaced Alex Carey as opener for the first time in the series but Afridi made an early impact when he removed Matthew Short in the first over.

Inglis added 46 runs with Marnus Labuschagne (19), who struggled in the series and was run-out while trying to steal a second run. But Inglis and Carey shared a half-century stand and put Australia back on course before the middle-order got crumbled against pace and spin.

Fast bowler Haris Rauf ignited the collapse when he hit the top of Carey’s (19) middle stump in the 23rd over and then Afridi struck twice in one over with the old ball when he dismissed Inglis and Cameron Green in the 27th over. Inglis holed out at mid-on and Green was smartly held by Babar at short mid-wicket as he tried to flick Afridi but couldn’t keep the ball down.

Cooper Connolly, who replaced Tanveer Sangha for the series decider, lasted only 12 balls and scored 3 before he was bowled round his legs while going for a ramp shot against Abrar as Australian middle-order couldn’t come to terms with the slow wicket.

Shadab finally got amongst the wickets after being wicketless in his last five ODIs when he removed Oliver Peake and Zampa as Australia tail folded quickly when last man Nathan Ellis was run-out.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Australia's Josh Inglis plays a shot during the third one-day international cricket match between Pakistan and Australia, in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Australia's Matthew Kuhnemann, right, and teammates celebrates after the dismissal of Pakistan's Babar Azam during the third one-day international cricket match between Pakistan and Australia, in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan's Babar Azam bats during the third one-day international cricket match between Pakistan and Australia, in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan's Arafat Minhas, centre, celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of Australia's Marnus Labuschagne, right, during the third one-day international cricket match between Pakistan and Australia, in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi, left, celebrates with teammate after the dismissal of Australia's Cameron Green during the third one-day international cricket match between Pakistan and Australia, in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Ground staff cover pitch and surrounding area during heavy rain at the Gaddafi Stadium before start of the third one-day international cricket match between Pakistan and Australia, in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)