When he was acquired in the blockbuster Myles Garrett trade, many believed that EDGE rusher Jared Verse would become the leader of this defense. The 25-year-old Ohio native knew before the season began that this team would have to earn the respect of the rest of the league, and he's already showing he has what it takes to be the captain the roster turns to.
While speaking to the media following the Browns' 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Verse shouldered a lot of the blame, citing having issues working through chips from the offensive line of Jacksonville:
Jared Verse on the #Browns pass rush. Puts a lot of performance on himself and how he dealt with chips. pic.twitter.com/Ls8wXD0Ba6
— Dan Labbe (@dan_labbe) September 13, 2026
"It looks worse than what it was. It was just self-inflicted
wounds, myself included. We weren't rushing as a unit up front, wasn't getting to the quarterback quick enough. Our DB's can't cover forever; that's something I got to chalk up to us up front. I'm gonna put a lot on me, I gotta be better than that."
You can tell that Verse is becoming the top player on this roster and becoming the leader this locker room so desperately needs right now. Embarrassing losses can have a major impact on morale, and it appears that Verse is eating a lot of the blows for this team.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns' Jared Verse takes ownership of Week 1 performance
