On Monday, Jared Verse practiced with the Rams. On Tuesday, he boarded a plane for a cross-country flight to Cleveland. On Wednesday morning, he met his new coaches and teammates and then practiced with the Browns for the first time.
So in the span of three days, the key component of the blockbuster Myles Garrett trade participated in OTAs with two teams in cities 2,300 miles apart.
How’s that for making a good first impression?
“It’s awesome,” said coach Todd Monken. “Just his willingness to get here, be here this morning to get into meetings and be on the practice field says a lot about him.”
Make no mistake, Verse, after two seasons with the Super Bowl-contending Rams, was blindsided by the trade to the Browns.
“Yeah, it caught me by surprise,” Verse said after the Browns’ penultimate practice of the OTA season. “I loved L.A. I loved the coaches, the organization, my teammates, everybody, the staff, the fans. You know, I loved the whole vibe of L.A., 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.
“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.”
The Rams stalked Garrett for weeks. The holdup was they refused to give up Verse. When GM Andrew Berry insisted there was no deal without Verse, a two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher and the 2024 NFL defensive rookie-of-the-year, the Rams finally relented. They also shipped the Browns their first-round pick in 2027, a second-rounder in 2028, and third-rounder in 2029.
“To know that this wasn’t gonna 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.’ And it was cool to know that.”
Verse practiced in individual and positional drills, but was held out of team periods on Wednesday. He probably will be phased into team periods as early as Monken’s three-day mandatory minicamp next week.
Leaving a Super Bowl contender was hard to accept. But he was encouraged – no, impressed – by what he saw on the practice field on Wednesday.
“They’re alive out there,” Verse said. “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.
“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. 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.”
Verse is undaunted about being the player selected to replace Garrett, whose nine seasons with the Browns paved a one-way path to the Hall of Fame.
“Myles is a great player,” Verse said. “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’m not here to fill his shoes. That’s not my job. That’s not in my description in any organization I go to. 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.”
You only get one chance to make a first impression. Verse nailed his.
Quarterback update
On a day the defense forced virtual sacks and offensive pre-snap penalties, Shedeur Sanders had a good day.
Sanders ran the first-team offense in all 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods, had the throw of the day on a beautiful, 30+ yard touchdown to Isaiah Bond over cornerback D’Angelo Ross, and then was indicated by Monken to closing the gap on presumed leader Deshaun Watson in the QB competition.
Monken said that Sanders is feeling more comfortable and speeding up his progression reads. The coach noted Sanders reverted to backing up in the pocket before the TD throw to Bond and said it would have been a sack. But he had a lot of praise for Sanders, overall.
“He’s still a young developmental player that I think has come a long way. And I think he’s got a huge upside,” Monken said. “I got a ton of respect for Shedeur because all he’s done since I’ve been here is work. That’s all he’s done is compete.”
Monken said that it was Sanders’ turn to take all the first-team reps on Wednesday, but he is making the decision on a No. 1 QB difficult.
“Every day I kind of lean one way or the other with quarterbacks. But we still got to get to that point [of naming a No. 1 soon],” Monken said. “I’m fired up by the quarterbacks. I just tell you, we got two starting-level quarterbacks. We really do.”
Brownie bits
This week,rookie Spencer Fano unofficially moved into the starting left tackle spot. Monken said he would like to have his No. 1 offensive line configured when he decides on his No. 1 QB in training camp, but it may take into the second week of training camp for the final pieces to come together. “I have a pretty good idea on the O-line. I really feel like I have a pretty good idea of four of the five. And then we got to figure out who’s that fifth,” he said. It appears the fifth starting spot could come down to rookie center Parker Brailsford and veteran guard Teven Jenkins. If Brailsford earns the starting center spot, Elgton Jenkins would move to left guard and Zion Johnson to right guard. If Brailsford needs more time, Jenkins would start at center, Johnson moves to left guard, and Teven Jenkins would probably start at right guard …
Defensive tackle Maliek Collins has spent the spring rehabbing from quad surgery in Houston. Monken said the team will get a full update on his recovery at minicamp next week …
Still absent from the voluntary practice were Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit. Mason Graham also was absent on Wednesday …
Not practicing were Harold Fannin, Dylan Sampson, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.