ArticleScore 100
AFC Notes: Myles Garrett, Andrew Berry, Lamar Jackson, Bengals, Browns, Ravens
Jun 3, 2026Wyatt GrindleyNFL Trade Rumors
Getting things ready
Loading Fantasy Red Zone…
Player mentions
Article text
Bengals Bengals DE Shemar Stewart is entering the second year of his career after appearing in just eight games as a rookie, recording just one sack, two tackles for loss, and 11 tackles. Stewart admitted that he would have moments where he would “overthink” in 2025. “Last year I would go out there and I’m saying, ‘I somewhat know what I need to do, but I’m not 100 percent sure,” Stewart said, via Jay Morrisson of SI . “And then I go out there and I overthink. Then I don’t make a play. Then it’s just a whole lot of things because I’m just too up in here.” Stewart said he finally received praise from DL coach Jerry Montgomery during this offseason practice. “I think I got my first ‘good job,’ from Jerry,” Stewart said. “That’s my guy. He never gave up on me. Always held me close even though when I wasn’t performing good, he always stood by me.” Stewart appeared in both edge and interior roles last season. He thinks it’s important to have “diversity” in his game. “In the league, you’ve got to have diversity when it comes to play because if you’re not diverse in what you do, people could pick up on what you’re doing,” Stewart said. “So knowing the playbook and knowing all the jobs to a T could benefit me way more in the long run. I’ve just been dialed in to the playbook and listening to what my coaches got to say.” Browns Browns GM Andrew Berry spoke at length about the trade of DE Myles Garrett during a press conference following the big news on Monday. “I didn’t expect to be up here talking about a Myles Garrett trade,” Berry said, via NFL.com . “This is not my favorite thing to do because, like I said, I didn’t have it on the bingo card and I realize how strong I’ve been with Myles. But the reality is when you have an opportunity to do something that has strong both short- and long-term benefits, we have to be flexible with it. We’re real excited from a team perspective.” “One of the things that’s unique about this deal relative to maybe the other non-QB superstar deals that come out is we made a trade with players and picks,” Berry continued. “Usually when you make these trades, you’re completely trading off present for future. To get a player like Jared in the deal, where the defense still maintains its excellence, that was really attractive to us.” “I always told myself that if we were ever in a position to trade Myles, three things would have to be true,” Berry added. “No. 1, it would have to have short- and long-term benefits. No. 2, as part of the trade, a young, cost-controlled star at a premium position would have to be included. And the third piece is it would have to be premium draft capital. And there’s a very small set of deals that really satisfy those constraints. So, when it got to the point with our negotiations with the Rams when all those things were satisfied, it really caused us to take a step back and really think about the decision.” Berry believes that the team receiving DE Jared Verse in return, who has two Pro Bowls in two seasons and was also Defensive Rookie of the Year, was the largest part of the team agreeing to the deal. “Jared Verse, he’s a huge part of this return for us. Jared is an outstanding football player. Former Defensive Rookie of the Year, two-time original ballot Pro Bowler and he’s a perfect DNA match for our attacking front. He’s really a terror in both phases as a run defender and pass rusher. And we are really excited to add him to our team. He allows us to continue to play defense at a hi…