Monster NFL trade a gift for MCG game as huge star added to line-up
There’s another layer of icing for Australian NFL fans when the LA Rams and San Francisco 49ers travel Down Under to play its first-ever competition game in September at the MCG.
The Rams dipped into their bag of draft picks along with dynamic young pass rusher Jared Verse to snare two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett from Cleveland, in a seismic trade that has captured the attention of the NFL world.
Myles Garrett AP Photo/David Dermer
When word spread that the NFL planned to stage its first-ever competition match in Australia - Aussie fans were just happy to get a game.
They could have scheduled any teams to play and supporters of the game in Australia would have unquestionably tuned in on TV and filled the stadium multiple times over.
But the NFL did its utmost to make its first stop in Australia a winner - with fierce divisional rivals the Rams and 49ers announced to kick things off.
It’s difficult to compare - but think Geelong v Hawthorn in the AFL or even the Roosters v Souths in the NRL as similar match ups in the Australian footy codes.
The Rams and 49ers share one of the most profound and historically significant rivalries in the NFL.
They have played each other twice every season since 1950 as members of the NFC West—the longest-running continuous rivalry in the division.
The reigning defensive player of the year and Jarrod Verse AP Photo/David Dermer, Mark J. Terrill
The 49ers hold a narrow 79-72-3 all-time series lead across more than 150 regular-season and playoff games.
Before the Rams went all in to secure Garrett, 30, fans at the MCG were already in for a treat with the amount of talent in action, but now Aussie fans have a chance to see a generational player at his peak.
Garrett is the first player in NFL history with at least 12 sacks in six consecutive seasons (2020-25) and the only player with double-digit sacks each of the past eight years. His 125½ career sacks are tied for 20th on the league list.
Garrett, who was part of five double-digit losing seasons during his nine years in Cleveland, finally gets a chance to contend for a Super Bowl title.
The current Rams are among the preseason Super Bowl favourites after winning 12 games and reaching the NFC championship game last season.
Quarterback Matt Stafford, the reigning league MVP, is returning to the head of the NFL’s most potent offence last season along with a retooled defence featuring Trent McDuffie and fellow ex-Kansas City star Jaylen Watson as its new cornerbacks — and now they’ve added the most feared defensive player in the league.
The Rams’ roster in 2026 now includes last season’s NFL leads in yards passing, TD passes, total receptions (Puka Nacua), receiving touchdowns (Davante Adams) and sacks (Garrett).
The trade is yet another blockbuster deal swung by Rams general manager Les Snead, whose eagerness to use his draft picks in trades for star veterans has kept the Rams among the NFL’s top teams.
On the other side, the 49ers have been among the top teams in the league for several seasons and are one of the most storied franchises.
While coach Kyle Shanahan is not keen on travelling to Australia for the match, the Garrett trade has made his job infinitely harder.
The 49ers aren’t short of star players either with the likes of George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams and Brock Purdy all likely to take the field in Melbourne.
But the amount of firepower the Rams now possess, will make it all the more difficult.
Either way, it’s a win-win for Australian fans, who now have several of the best players in the league on show for the historic MCG clash.
