Rams star Myles Garrett has his sights set on Seahawks: ‘I want the champs’

LOS ANGELES — Myles Garrett is busy setting goals for himself as the newest blockbuster addition to the Los Angeles Rams. He’s talking about chasing all-time greatness and winning his first Lombardi Trophy.

He also sees one team in the way of that second goal.

The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year was asked by Rams play-by-play radio host J.B. Long at the team’s alternate uniform reveal on Thursday night which team in the NFC West he was most excited to face this season.

“I want the champs,” Garrett said.

Of course, he is referring to the Seattle Seahawks, who won last season’s Super Bowl over the New England Patriots right after ending the Rams’ season with a 31-27 victory in the NFC Championship Game.

That loss sparked the Rams’ aggressive offseason journey, which began with Matthew Stafford announcing a return for an 18th NFL season and continued with blockbuster trades for two-time All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie and Garrett, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year.

Garrett answered the question while sitting on a stage at SoFi Stadium with Stafford and McDuffie.

“They won it all, and I’ve got to see what that’s about,” Garrett said of the Seahawks. “They feel like they’ve got the pieces to run it back, and I feel like we’ve got the pieces to take over.”

This was a night of confidence from the Rams, as Stafford and McDuffie also spoke about the urge to win another Super Bowl. Stafford led the Rams to one in the 2021 season, and McDuffie won two with the Kansas City Chiefs before he was traded to the Rams.

Garrett has accomplished almost everything a defensive player could on an individual level through his first nine seasons. He’s also reached seven Pro Bowls, made five All-Pro first teams and has an active streak of six straight seasons with at least 12 sacks. Last year, he set the NFL’s all-time single-season record with 23 sacks.

But he has played in just three playoff games and did not reach a conference championship game with the Cleveland Browns. That’s among the goals this year as the Rams eye a playoff return to SoFi Stadium, which will host this season’s Super Bowl, as it did when the Rams won it in February 2022.