NFL fans are concerned for new Browns star Jared Verse as he arrived in Cleveland and practiced with his new team for the first time after getting traded by the Los Angeles Rams.
Verse lost his spot with the perennial Super Bowl contenders and was sent to arguably the worst team in the NFL as part of the blockbuster trade that sent Myles Garrett to Los Angeles.
Garrett, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and NFL single-season sack record holder, was picked up by Sean McVay on Monday in exchange for Verse and a haul of lucrative draft picks.
But when Verse took to the field in Cleveland on Wednesday for his first practice and then spoke to the media, fans thought he looked devastated.
One posted: ‘I’d be upset too if you went from a Super Bowl contender to… the Browns. Also, everyone in Cleveland is going to blame him for this year going terrible.’
Another added: ‘If I had to come from California to Cleveland, Ohio, I wouldn’t be too thrilled either.’
Jared Verse practiced with the Browns for the first time after getting traded by the Rams
Verse admitted he was sad to leave Los Angeles and fans thought he looked very downcast
A third added: ‘I can’t remember a time I’ve genuinely felt so bad for an NFL player before.’
‘Verse looks incredibly sad and disinterested wearing that uniform. Can’t blame him,’ another commented.
One claimed ‘I know depressed eyes when I see them’, while another said Verse has gone from ‘Super Bowl contention to the bottom of the totem pole’.
Another wrote: ‘They moved him from paradise to impending doom and gloom.’
Verse arrived in Cleveland on Tuesday afternoon and took his physical. He took part in individual and position drills on Wednesday as the Browns conducted their eighth voluntary organized team activity practice.
He admitted he was disappointed for a couple of hours when he was informed about the trade, until he learned that he was the key piece in the blockbuster deal.
‘To know that this wasn’t going to go through if I wasn’t a part of it, it’s good to know that,’ Verse said.
‘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”. It was cool to know that.’
The Browns got Verse and three draft picks – a 2027 first-rounder, a second-round pick in 2028 and 2029 third-round selection – for Garrett, who set the NFL single-season record in sacks last year with 23.
Verse said one positive was that the Browns were desperate to bring him into their team
Rams coach Sean McVay and his star new player Myles Garrett were all smiles at his unveiling
Browns general manager Andrew Berry said on Tuesday that any trade involving Garrett had to include a young premium player on a team-friendly contract.
Verse, the 19th overall pick in the 2024 Draft, is on the third year of his rookie contract. The Browns can exercise the fifth-year option on Verse’s contract next year or negotiate a long-term extension.
There isn’t much time during the offseason program to bring Verse up to speed. The Browns have two more OTA sessions on Thursday and Friday before next week’s three-day mandatory minicamp wraps up everything until training camp begins in late July.
Verse had 4.5 sacks en route to being the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2024 and had 7.5 sacks last season, along with three forced fumbles.