Fresh off a blockbuster trade to Los Angeles, superstar pass rusher Myles Garrett is fueling an NFC West rivalry by putting the defending champion Seahawks in his crosshairs.
After falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game 31-27, the Los Angeles Rams felt they needed a blockbuster trade to surpass their divisional rival in the conference hierarchy.
Les Snead and LA accomplished that goal in a big way, acquiring perhaps the best individual player in all of football by trading for superstar pass rusher Myles Garrett.
The single-season-sack record-holder has now centered himself in online antics started by second-year guard and 2025 first-rounder Grey Zabel, who began stirring up NFC West beef on a recent appearance on "Green Light with Chris Long."
"(The Rams') defensive line is wicked good. Got even better this offseason," Zabel said. "We're walking out of O-line meetings to lift or run or something, and all I could think about was, 'Awesome. Cleveland Browns just gave us a Christmas present in early June.'"
It seems that Garrett may have caught wind of the 24-year-old's comments, especially considering Zabel name-dropped the new Rams edge.
"Somebody sent the Twitter deal, and the first thing you do is check if it's a burner account and somebody's messing around," Zabel continued. "People skew away from competition. I'm like, 'You know what? Let's go see what we've got.' He's probably the best defensive end ever, and I kind of want to see how good I am. He might embarrass me a few plays. Awesome. Been there, done that. So let's go to war."
Garrett fired back at Seattle on Thursday evening at the “Rams Revealed Live” event when asked which divisional opponent he's most looking forward to facing.
"I want the champs," Garrett declared.
He wasn't the only new face in LA to offer this sentiment, though.
The Rams' big-time addition before they traded for Garrett was former Super Bowl champion corner Trent McDuffie. The NFL's current highest-paid defensive back echoed Garrett's response, agreeing that the Seahawks are who he's anticipating competing against the most.
Just as Seattle's training camp is set to get underway — the Garrett/McDuffie banter should serve as great bulletin board material for head coach Mike Macdonald to take advantage of.
It's difficult for some to stay motivated after climbing ... and dominating ... your way to the top of your respective field, which is why leaning into this kind of noise coming from an arch rival can be extremely beneficial.
The Seahawks are champs — for now.
If Garrett, McDuffie and the rest of the Rams want to change that, they'll have to do what they couldn't in January: go through Seattle.
