LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jared Verse will talk.
The Los Angeles Rams’ second-year outside linebacker will talk to the media, to teammates, to opponents, to opposing fans and to pretty much anyone else associated with football.
Ahead of Sunday's return visit to Philadelphia, where Verse earned the ire and respect of Eagles fans for his trash talk ahead of January’s NFC divisional-round playoff game
, he has no intention of stopping anytime soon.“I’m pretty loud, I’m pretty vocal,” Verse said. “I’m pretty,
like, aggressive, like I’m gonna get in your face. I’m (gonna) yell at you, I’m gonna talk crazy. After the game, it’s all love. But when we in between the white lines, those 60 minutes, like, you gonna really hate me.”
The boisterousness with which Verse expresses himself is equaled by the pass rush skill the 2024 first-round draft pick has displayed during his young NFL career. Verse’s impressive rookie season ended with him getting two sacks and three tackles for loss in a 28-22 postseason loss to the eventual Super Bowl champions, which — combined with his willingness to engage with the equally energetic Philadelphia public — seemingly left no ill will between the two sides.
Even with that mutual appreciation, Verse stands by his distaste for the Eagles, which formed while attending high school in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, about 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
“My feelings are roughly the same, but like it is with everyone, I respect people that not only respect me, but that stand on business,” Verse said. “They stood on business with the situation. They came with their energy. After the game, I tipped my hat off to them. They tipped it back.”
Teammate Byron Young said the energy Verse brought on a snowy January afternoon in Philadelphia has been a constant feature in the Rams’ locker room.
For Young, a third-year outside linebacker operating on the other side of the defensive front, the gregarious Verse was instrumental in helping him become more expressive on and off the field.
“Like, I’m typically a quiet guy,” Young said. “He came in talking trash every day, and got me on my (expletive). ... It made me better. Made me a better person. Made me more hungry and got me more, you know what I’m saying, talkative. I like it.”
Pairing Verse and Young, along with defensive tackles Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske, has helped the Rams recharge their pass rush following the retirement of Aaron Donald after the 2023 season.
Together, the defense has eight sacks through two games and ranks third in the league by getting to the quarterback on 13.3% of dropbacks. Even though Verse does not have a sack or tackle for loss early in his sophomore season, defensive coordinator Chris Shula noted how Verse’s presence is helping to create opportunities for his teammates to make disruptive plays.
Verse sees being the focus of blocking schemes as part of the challenge that comes with trying to get to the next level as a player.
“The greats get that attention. The greats break through,” Verse said. “So I just got (to get) past this, the next phase, this next wall, this next mountain. Once I’m past that, we’ll be cooking with oil again.”
And even if the stat sheet doesn’t necessarily reflect it, Verse has moved opponents backwards with his physical and verbal abilities. The latter helped create a false start in the Rams' season-opening win over Houston.
“It gets in their head and it gets them thinking,” Young said of Verse’s constant chatter. “The false starts, the guy false starts twice, I feel like Verse got in his head a little bit on the second one. That was pretty funny, though.”
NOTES: Fiske (oblique) and LG Steve Avila (ankle) both missed practice Thursday for the second straight day. WR Davante Adams and RT Rob Havenstein were full participants after sitting out Wednesday for rest.
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