DE Jared Verse (6.3.26)
Jared (Verse), what was your reaction to the trade?
“Yeah, it caught me by surprise. I loved LA. I loved the coaches, the organization, my teammates, everybody a part of it, the staff, the fans. You know, I loved the whole vibe of LA, Los Angeles, the Rams, and it was upsetting. I was upset for a good little bit of time. But when you’re an athlete, you understand the nature of the business. Everybody does what they think is best for their business, and that’s the situation that I’m in. I’m happy to be a part of the Browns. I’m happy that they believed in me and they were able to make that trade and bring me here, be with my teammates, be with everybody here. And I truly do believe in everybody in the locker room. But it was upsetting at first, but you got two choices. You can either work or you can give up, and I ain’t never been a quitter.”
Now that you’ve been here, even just for a little bit, you’ve gone through a practice, you’ve met some of the guys, does that help you maybe get your head turned around about this? When you see sort of the energy and kind of the juice that’s going on out there?
“Oh, yeah, they’re alive out there. They’re moving fast. Everybody, specifically the defense, obviously. That’s what I’m focusing on. The D-line was moving really well. The DBs are locked in on everything. The linebackers are making their calls very quickly, that’s giving us time to get set. It was alive out there, and I feel very confident in us.”
Alex Wright, he’s a guy that was out there on the field talking to you a lot. He said that you guys were just kind of talking. Not even just football stuff, but just getting to know each other off the field, too. Have you felt kind of that welcome presence early on to the Cleveland Browns organization?
“Oh, yeah, 100%. Everybody I see, quickly introduces themselves. You know, I’m terrible with names, so I have to ask people’s names a couple times. But it’s good, it feels like home. Like, you come in, everybody’s saying hello to you, getting to know you, wants to know about this, about you, where you from, and it feels good here.”
Andrew Berry said they feel like you’re a DNA fit for this defense. How do you see that? Especially as you go from 3-4 to 4-3 here?
“Oh, yeah. No, this is an attacking front, and that’s kind of my style. I’ll be attacking. I want to get to it. I want to have a defined situation, just be able to do my thing every time without having to think too much or without having to slow down and read keys. And it’s exactly that. I like it a lot.”
You use the word upset. How much does it motivate you now to kind of like prove them wrong that they traded you?
“Yeah, I mean, it’s a different type of feeling. I mean, I’ve always been doubted my whole life. You know, out of high school, I had the one offer. You know, going into college and leaving college, I was less doubted, but still had the little chip on my shoulder and everything like that. It definitely puts a chip on my shoulder. When I was with the Rams, I was still learning how to play DE, still learned how to be a football player, NFL player, and how to play at this next level. And the Browns, got me now. I feel like they’re going to get the best of me. They’re not going to get a half-finished project or something you got to work on. This is work here. This is going to be the best version of me. That’s everything I’ve done this offseason. It’s going to be great.”
How do you feel about the fact that you were the key to this whole trade and the Browns were not going to make this trade and part with Myles Garrett unless they could get you here? I mean, what does that say about how they feel about you?
“Yeah, I feel like that’s a testament to not only me, but my family, how hard we work and everything like that. I feel like hard work never fails you. And to know that this wasn’t gonna go through if I wasn’t a part of it – it’s good to know that. That was probably the biggest fact that brought some sunshine into this whole situation for me. I saw that. I was like, ‘yeah, they want me.’ And it was cool to know that.”
What’s your mindset stepping in at the same position for a guy who’s done what Myles has done?
“Yeah, Myles is a great player. I watch his film every day. I’ve keyed in on a couple things he does, the moves he makes, the technicalities of every small aspect of his game. I very much studied him and to know that you know, I’m not here to fill his shoes. That’s not my job. That’s not in my description in any organization I go to, that’s not my job. My job is to be the best me. If I’m the best me, I’m not going to be Myles Garrett. I’m not going to be Maxx Crosby, this guy, that guy – the best players in the league. I’m going to be the best Jared, and that’s going to be the best player in the league.”
There’s no perfect time to be traded, but to be traded where there’s still some time in the offseason to go through minicamp, go through the OTA program, kind of learn and absorb a little bit before you jump into training camp. How beneficial is that going to be for you for the transition?
“Oh, yeah, it’s going to be amazing. You know, not only just the aspect of getting to know my teammates and the camaraderie, but to understand the playbook, understand what my job is specifically, understand every key aspect of it, obviously, getting to know my teammates. You know, when you have that camaraderie and everything like that elevates you from being a good team to a great team. And we’re going to be a great team.”
You’re from Dayton, Ohio. How does it feel just being back in your home state? Will you have family be able to travel up to Cleveland for some more of your games?
“Yeah, yeah, they’ll definitely be able to make it. Most of my family is in Phoenix now, my older sister is still in Dayton, though, so she’s not too far away. But it’s good to be back. I ain’t gonna lie the clear blue skies, I landed on a great day. I ain’t got much to complain about.”
When did your mindset turn from surprise and disappointment into, “okay, new chapter. Let’s go.”?
“Honestly, took me about a couple hours. I got home, Braden Fiske, Byron Young both came to my house. They sat down with me, each of them, individually. I got to sit down with them and talk to them and say my goodbyes and everything like that. And it was about when Fiske left my house, I was like, ‘damn, like, all right, it’s time to work.’ Like, you know, I don’t get to be teammates with essentially my best friend no more. So that was just a bad factor of the thing.”
I know you’re still getting to know everyone, but the fact that you have Carson Schwesinger on this defense. And you two are the last two NFL defensive rookies of the year. Like, how exciting is that potential pairing for you?
“Man, that boy can fly. Nah, he can work. I like that a lot. I like knowing that behind me that I can…I don’t got much to worry about if something, you know, I can play freely because I don’t have to worry if something gets by me. He’s going to be able to handle that. He’s going to be able to clean everything up. So now that’s the exciting factor of it.”
You mentioned your sort of journey to the NFL one off in high school and how it’s kind of serving the motivation for you. Just how much has your path as unique as it was going to Albany and transferring to Florida State, how has that kind of molded you with the person you are?
“Yeah, I’m used to hard situations. I’m used to having to deal with something hard and, you know, transfer that to being a better version of myself. I’m used to being at organizations or teams – in college, Albany wasn’t, you know, the most winning team and everything like that. When I got to the Rams, they wasn’t the most…they still was getting dubs, but they wasn’t like up there like that. But every step of the way is just getting better. I’m excited to just keep working. And today was a big factor that watching how the guys are in the weight room, how they are on the field, like, them boys are flying. Like, I’m like, ‘all right, like, y’all not messing around. Y’all not gonna lose a game.’ So we not gonna lose with the way them boys moving.”
Would you say that part of being upset about this in the initial going was the fact that maybe the Browns out there nationally don’t have the greatest reputation in the world and that once you did get here and just get a feel for it a little bit, you’re like, this isn’t anything like what you hear when you’re out there?
“Yeah, I mean, you can tell how a team is by how they practice. You see losing teams practice terribly. You see great teams practice, amazingly, it translates. That’s not a losing team out there. The way everybody was moving, I didn’t get to get into the team situations today. That’s going to be another day. But the way the boys are moving, this isn’t a losing team. Nobody’s moving around like, they’re slow like, they’re feeling sorry for themselves. People are moving with intent, like, they are not going to miss the opportunity to play in January, to play in February, to play in that big game.”
Is there any connection on this team to you, any familiar face of your past?
“Yeah, Jeremiah Byers, I think he’s a guard now. Me and him were at Florida State together. And KT Leveston, me and him were at the Rams together. So, that’s two tackles I was messing up.”
There’s only one Myles Garrett, obviously. And you’ve already, started your career really well. Just how do you, I guess, deal with coming in here, maybe not replacing him, but, like you’re the guy that they traded him for and just, what’s your mentality coming in here, maybe trying to fill those shoes as best as you can?
“Yeah, I mean, you know, I’m not here to fill anyone’s shoes. Myles, he’s a size 13, Nikes, whatever they are. I’m a size, 13 and a half, size 14, Jordans. Like, everybody’s different. I’m not here to fill his shoes. I’m here to bring my own. I’m here to work, and I’m here to be the best version of me. The best version of me is going to be the best defensive player in the league, and the best defensive player of the league is going to play for the best defense in the league. And that’s what I make myself a testament to.”
How would you describe your game?
“It’s violent. It’s very violent. It’s very mean. It’s very – why are you in my way? I play angry because I’m like, ‘why do you think you can block me?’ And if you know, get the best of me – oh, so you’re game planning for me. All right, so I got something else for you. Like, it’s a very violent game when you’re against me.”
I know you’re just getting to know them, but what were your first impressions of both Head Coach Todd Monken and defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg?
“I like it. Like I said, like them boys, everybody in here is working. Like, it’s not like a lack of, like, effort. That’s the one that you can never say. It’s not lack of skill. Them boys are working and they’re doing moves. I’m like, all right…everybody’s good. I like it.”
You want to be yourself out here. So what is the first thing that Browns fans need to know about you? What do you want them to know about the player, the person that’s coming into their city?
“Yeah, I’m about a lot of things. I’m a big family person. I love my family; I love my friends. I care about the people that are close to me more than anything. But the one thing I hold above all, you know, besides God is obviously God’s above all, is work. Work is the most important thing to me. All I care about is lifting. All I care about is running. All I care about is how I can get faster, how I can get this step a little bit smaller, how I can translate this to the field. That’s all I care about. And all I care about is being the best me. That’s all that matters.”
Do you feel like perhaps there might be something to be said for kind of coming in here when the foundation of this team is being built? All you guys are so young. This is the new core of a team that is probably going to be on the rise. Is there something to be said for that maybe over a really established team? How do you feel about that situation?
“Yeah, I feel great about it. You know, when you go into a younger team in a younger situation, a lot of people are…their heads are all over the place. Some people are talking too much. Some people don’t take this seriously. Don’t take that seriously. That’s not the problem here. Like, the problem here is everybody wants to work too much. Like, ‘hey, slow it down. Hey, let’s figure out the little techniques of this stuff.’ Like, everybody here is like, so focus driven and so wanting to be a best version of themselves. And I think that’s like, that’s such a testament to just the new coaching staff and the new foundation that everyone’s about to lay down.”
Coming into your rookie year with the Rams, they were coming off Aaron Donald retiring. How much did that experience helped you that can now carry on here?
“Oh, yeah, I mean, 100% that helped me, you know, exponentially. Like, you go in with some of your best friends, some of the younger guys, and you realize we might be a year apart, two years apart, but all we care about is how we can be the best version of us on that field. Sundays are the most important thing. So, we just spend so much time outside of football, outside of the team-designated activities, watching film together, getting to know each other. Because when you know somebody, you play harder for them.”
Postseason experience is huge in this league. You’ve been in this league for a couple years and have had quite a bit already in such a short amount of time. This team obviously is very young and inexperienced. What can you bring in terms of the playoff experience to the mindset of these younger players to a team that’s their goal?
“Yeah, I mean during the regular season, every game matters. You know, the first thing before even worrying about the playoffs is making the playoffs, before even worrying about how we going to win in the playoffs. And once you get there, the margin for error is so small, you can’t mess up. If you take one step too wide, boom, the B gap’s wide open and they’re running you for 60 yards down the field. You take one step too small, the edge is wide open and they’re taking you 40 yards down the field, getting stopped at the one and now they’re in field goal range. The margin of error is so small in the playoffs, but before the playoffs, you even gotta focus about the regular season. Before the regular season, you gotta focus on the preseason. Before preseason, you got camp. Before camp, we got today. So that’s all I’m focused on right now.”
Were you a Browns fan growing up since you’re from Dayton?
“Honestly, I didn’t even watch football until I got to college. I was really just like enjoying life. Like I was being like a little kid out there messing around, playing in the sun and stuff like that. Just messing around. I ain’t watch football until I got to college and stuff. I still never had a favorite team. I just kind of lived.”
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