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Jared Verse’s family is from Dayton, Ohio, and his older sister still lives there and will be relatively close by, so the trade that sent Verse to the Cleveland Browns has benefits. But make no mistake, going from the Los Angeles Rams to the Browns was not good news for Verse.
“I was upset for a while,” Verse revealed when he met with local reporters at the Browns facility on Wednesday.
Understandable.
Jared Verse of the Los Angeles Rams reacts during the NFC Championship game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, on January 25, 2026.
FORMER RAMS STAR JARED GOFF SAYS HE WAS BLINDED BY TRADE TO LIONS: ‘THE TRUE TASTE OF TRUE ADVERSITY’
That’s because going from the Rams, a Super Bowl contender, to the Browns, a team aiming to finish last in the AFC North, won’t be an immediate sensation. It is the proverbial journey from the attic to the latrine.
“Yeah, it took me by surprise,” Verse continued. “I loved Los Angeles, I loved the coaches, the organization, my teammates, everyone that was a part of it, the staff, the fans. You know, I loved the whole vibe of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, the Rams, and it was disturbing.”
This is a player who does not show weaknesses on the field, being vulnerable against strangers.
And there really shouldn’t be any judgment here because we get it. We have seen it before.
Jared Goff helped the Rams reach the Super Bowl in February 2019. So he thought he was building a life with that team. But two years later, he was traded to the Detroit Lions for the older and more successful Matthew Stafford.
Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions celebrates a touchdown during an NFL game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 22, 2025. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
It’s a blow to the ego.
And like the Goff-Stafford deal, we’re talking about moving from Gucci’s leather belts to the Rust Belt. Because Cleveland is a nice city and all, but the weather doesn’t compare to Los Angeles. And the vibe for a 25-year-old with a lot of money is obviously not the same either.
RAMS ADD MYLES GARRETT AS PART OF BLOCKBUSTER TRADE AND SUPER BOWL PUSH FOR 2026 SEASON
Then there are the prospects for next season. Verse was mentally prepared to run it with a good team until this trade. The Rams went 12-5 last season and reached the NFC Championship game. The Browns were 5-12 and sought a coaching change.
But a part of being a professional athlete is supposed to be understanding that your team is your workplace. It’s your business, not your family.
Many teams tell players they belong to a family, but when was the last time a family traded a son or brother?
Verse understands that now.
“When you’re an athlete, you understand the nature of the business,” he said. “Everyone does what they think is best for their business, and that’s the situation I’m in. I’m happy to be a part of the Browns. I’m happy that they believed in me and were able to make that trade and get me here, be with my teammates, be with everyone here.
“And I really believe in everyone in the locker room. But at first it was annoying. But then you have two options: you can work or you can give up, and I’ve never been a quitter.”
AARON DONALD MULLING COMING OUT OF RETIREMENT TO PLAY WITH MYLES GARRETT IN RAMS
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett warms up before the NFL’s Week 10 game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Nov. 9, 2025. (IMAGE)
One intriguing aspect of trading Myles Garrett for Verse — a first-round pick in 2027, a second-round pick in 2028 and a third-round pick in 2029 — is that they held firm until the Rams added Verse to the deal. Until that point, the deal was a preliminary compensation trade for Garrett that Cleveland didn’t necessarily want to make.
“I always told myself that if we were ever in a position where we were going to trade Myles, three things would have to be true,” Browns executive vice president and general manager Andrew Berry said. “Number one, there would have to be short-term and long-term benefits. Number two, as part of the trade, a young cost-control star would have to be included at a premium position. The third part is there would have to be premium draft capital.
“And there’s a very small set of deals that actually satisfy those limitations. So when it got to the point in our negotiations with the Rams, when all of those things were satisfied, it really made us take a step back and really think about the decision.
“Jared Verse, obviously he’s a big part of this comeback for us.”
This is good for Verse. He is on a team that wants him and is more aligned with the arc of his career. He has a rookie contract through the 2027 season. And he is on a team that is building a better future in maybe two or three years.
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The Rams are in win-now mode. They are filling their roster with high-priced veterans and within two or three years they could be in rebuilding mode.
So maybe the move that Verse didn’t initially like could work out in his best interest.
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