The Green Bay Packers made the trade heard 'round the NFL world before last season to score Micah Parsons. Now, another Super Bowl hopeful in the NFC has matched them, as Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett is headed for the Los Angeles Rams.
Whereas the Packers organization is historically averse to such blockbuster transactions, the Rams are the ultimate go-for-broke, all-in football operation. That's their M.O. in the Les Snead-Sean McVay era.
Can Green Bay's combo of Jordan Love and Parsons overcome the Rams' corresponding Garrett-Matthew Stafford duo to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LXI? Or will the Pack come nowhere close to such lofty aspirations this season?
A classic measuring-stick game in Week 12 will probably give us a great idea of what to expect down the stretch.
Micah Parsons and Packers to face Myles Garrett and Rams in Netflix's Thanksgiving Eve game
Parsons reacted to the initial news of squaring off against the Rams with five flame emojis. Yes, we have the modernity of social media to thank for such things.
Safe to say even more fiery anticipation has been added on top of the Green Bay-LA showdown in the City of Angels. SoFi Stadium also happens to be the site of Super Bowl LXI — and it could serve as the venue for all the Rams' preceding playoff games if they seize the NFC's No. 1 seed.
Anyway, there will be inevitable comparisons between the Parsons and Garrett trades. Whereas the Packers served up two first-round picks and a solid veteran in defensive tackle Kenny Clark, the Rams gave up an even more significant haul for Garrett, who's about three and a half years Parsons' senior:
Full trade terms, per ESPN sources:
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 1, 2026
🏈Rams receive: Myles Garrett
🏈Browns receive: Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 2nd and a 2029 3rd. https://t.co/3WdPta3vrz pic.twitter.com/mXq3tUEhdt
One could argue that the next duel in the Bears-Packers rivalry in Week 5 at Lambeau Field has more juice, or that their Christmas Day meeting will be the true "Game of the Year." However, due to the Parsons-centric trade the Rams just pulled off, this Rams clash should shoot to the top of everyone's list.
Parsons is coming off a torn ACL, but he should be ready to roll about a month or so into the season. Surely by the time Week 12 rolls around, he'll be all systems go for an epic showcase of the sport's two preeminent pass rushers.
If you look at the Rams' roster on paper, they are the prohibitive Super Bowl favorites. Shoot, they may have held that status prior to the Garrett trade.
According to Easton Butler, rumor has it that the Pack could be scoring another dynamic defensive end of their own in a potential trade for Josh Sweat. Not that it'd be anywhere near the devastating tandem of Garrett and Byron Young that Los Angeles has, but a Sweat-Parsons team-up isn't a bad counter at all.
Whether that Sweat trade goes through or not, we've got Micah vs. Myles on Thanksgiving Eve. In prime time. On Netflix. Tremendous gridiron theatre.
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