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The Cleveland Browns shook up the NFL world on Monday when they stunningly traded star defensive end Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams.
While you’re never going to be able to get an equal return for a player like Garrett, the Browns still did pretty well for themselves. Jared Verse came back to Cleveland in the trade along with draft capital, giving the Browns a building block for the future on the edge.
Verse got to Cleveland on Wednesday and got straight to work in the offseason program. He talked about his initial shocked reaction to the trade, but he also eventually revealed when he got excited to play for Cleveland, via Mary Kay Cabot.
Jared Verse says the fact the #Browns wouldn’t have traded Myles Garrett without getting him in return lent some “sunshine … I was like, yeah, they want me.” pic.twitter.com/UW1Kx6f649
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) June 3, 2026
“Not only me but my family, how hard we work and everything like that,” Verse said. “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 and I was like, ‘They want me.’ It was cool to know that.”
Verse has some massive shoes to fill, as Garrett has won a pair of Defensive Player of the Year awards with the Browns and just set the all-time single-season sack record in 2025. However, the former Florida State star excels against both the run and the pass, so he should have no problems making an impact right away with a talented Browns defense.
In just two seasons, Verse has 12 sacks and 22 tackles for loss and was an integral part of a Los Angeles defense that nearly helped get it to a Super Bowl last season. He should only be getting better and is already one of the strongest players in the NFL, giving the Browns a future star as a consolation prize for losing Garrett.
Now that Verse is settling in and happy to be in Cleveland, Browns fans should be thrilled to see his career take off in a major way as the star of this Cleveland defense.
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