Jared Verse Press Conference — June 3rd, 2026

[0:01] Nice to meet everybody. [0:03] Jared, what was your reaction to the trade? [0:06] Yeah, it caught me by surprise. [0:08] I loved L.A. [0:10] I loved the coaches, the organization, my teammates, [0:13] everybody a part of it, the staff, the fans. [0:16] I loved the whole vibe of L.A., Los Angeles, the Rams. [0:20] It was upsetting. [0:22] I was upset for a good little bit of time. [0:24] But when you're an athlete, you understand the nature of business. [0:27] Everybody does what they think is best for their business, [0:29] and that's the situation that I'm in. [0:31] I'm happy to be a part of the Browns. [0:33] I'm happy that they believed in me [0:34] and they were able to make that trade and bring me here, [0:36] be with my teammates, be with everybody here, [0:38] and I truly do believe in everybody in the locker room. [0:41] But it was upsetting at first. [0:42] But you got two choices. [0:44] You can either work or you can give up, [0:45] and I ain't never been a quitter. [0:48] You've been here even just for a little bit. [0:49] You've gone through a practice. [0:50] You've met some of the guys. [0:53] Does that help you maybe get your head turned around about this [0:55] when you see sort of the energy [0:57] and kind of the juice that's going on out there? [1:00] Oh, yeah, they're alive out there. [1:01] Yeah, they're moving fast. [1:03] Everybody, you know, everybody, specifically the defense, [1:05] obviously that's what I'm focusing on. [1:06] The D-line was moving really well. [1:08] The DBs are locked in on everything. [1:09] The linebackers are making their calls very quickly. [1:12] You know, that's giving us time to get set. [1:13] It was alive out there, and I feel very confident in us. [1:20] A guy that was out there on the field talking to you a lot, [1:22] he said that you guys were just kind of talking, [1:23] not even just football stuff, [1:24] but just getting to know each other off the field too. [1:27] Have you felt kind of that welcome presence early on [1:30] to the Cleveland Browns organization? [1:31] Oh, yeah, 100%. [1:32] Everybody I see, you know, quickly introduces themselves. [1:35] You know, I'm terrible with names, [1:36] so I have to ask people's names a couple times, [1:38] but, you know, it's good. [1:40] You know, it feels like home. [1:41] Like, you come in, everybody's, you know, [1:42] saying hello to you, getting to know you, [1:44] wants to know about this about you, where you're from, [1:45] and it feels good here. [1:48] I'm sorry, you said what? [1:49] For this defense, I guess, how do you see that, [1:55] and especially as you go from 3-4 to 4-3? [1:58] Oh, yeah, no, this is an attacking front, [2:00] and that's kind of my style. [2:02] I'll be attacking. [2:03] I want to get to it. [2:04] I want to, you know, have a defined situation [2:06] and just be able to do my thing every time [2:07] without having to think too much [2:08] or without having to slow down and read keys, [2:11] and it's exactly that. [2:12] I like it a lot. [2:14] Upset. [2:15] How much does it motivate you now [2:16] to kind of, like, prove them wrong that they traded you? [2:20] Yeah, I mean, it's a different type of feeling. [2:23] You know what I mean? [2:23] I've always been doubted my whole life. [2:25] You know, out of high school, I had the one offer, [2:26] you know, going into college, [2:27] and, you know, leaving college, I was less doubted, [2:30] but, you know, still had the little chip on my shoulder [2:31] and everything like that. [2:32] It definitely put the chip on my shoulder. [2:33] You know, when I was with the Rams, [2:34] I was still learning how to play De'Anne, [2:36] still learning how to be a football player, NFL player, [2:39] and how to play at this next level, [2:41] and the Browns, you know, got me. [2:42] Now I feel like they're going to get the best of me. [2:44] They're not going to get a half-finished project [2:46] or something you got to work on. [2:47] This is work here. [2:48] This is going to be the best version of me. [2:49] That's everything I've done this offseason. [2:51] It's going to be great. [2:52] I feel like the fact that you were the key to this whole trade [2:56] and the Browns were not going to make this trade [2:57] in part with Myles Garrett unless they could get you here. [3:01] I mean, what does that, you know, [3:02] say about how they feel about you? [3:03] Yeah, I feel like that's a testament to not only me, [3:05] but, you know, my family, you know, [3:06] how hard we work and everything like that. [3:08] I feel like hard work never fails you. [3:09] And to know that, you know, [3:10] this wasn't going to go through if I wasn't a part of it, [3:13] it's good to know that. [3:14] Like, that was probably the biggest fact that, you know, [3:16] brought some sunshine into this whole situation for me. [3:19] I saw that. [3:19] I was like, yeah, they want me. [3:22] And it was cool. [3:22] It was cool to know that. [3:24] Mindset, stepping in at the same position [3:26] for a guy who's done what Myles has done. [3:29] Yeah, no, Myles is a great player. [3:30] I watch his film every day. [3:31] I, you know, keyed in on a couple of things he does, [3:34] the moves he makes, the technicalities [3:36] of every small aspect of his game. [3:38] I very much studied him. [3:39] And to know that, you know, I'm not here to fill his shoes. [3:41] That's not my job. [3:42] That's not in my description in any organization I go to. [3:46] That's not my job. [3:47] My job is to be the best of me. [3:48] If I'm the best of me, I'm not going to be, you know, Myles Garrett. [3:50] I'm not going to be Max Crosby. [3:52] This guy, that guy, the best players in the league. [3:53] I'm going to be the best Jared, [3:54] and that's going to be the best player in the league. [3:56] There's no perfect time to be traded, [3:58] but to be traded where there's still some time in the offseason [4:01] to go through minicamp, go through, you know, the OTA program, [4:05] kind of learn and absorb a little bit [4:06] before you jump into training camp. [4:08] How beneficial is that going to be for you for the transition? [4:11] Oh, yeah, it's going to be amazing. [4:12] You know, not only just the aspect of getting to know my teammates [4:14] and the camaraderie, but to understand the playbook, [4:16] understand what my job is specifically, [4:18] understand every key aspect of it, [4:20] get to know, obviously get to know my teammates. [4:21] You know, when you have that camaraderie and everything like that, [4:23] that elevates you from being a good team to a great team, [4:25] and we're going to be a great team. [4:28] Dayton State, will you have family be able to travel up to Cleveland [4:34] for some more of your games? [4:36] Yeah, yeah, they'll definitely be able to make it. [4:38] Most of my family's in Phoenix now, [4:39] so my older sister is still in Dayton, though, [4:41] so she's not too far away. [4:42] But it's good to be back. [4:44] I ain't going to lie. [4:45] Hey, the clear blue skies, I'll land on a great day. [4:47] I ain't got much to complain about. [4:49] What did your mindset turn from in your chapter? [4:55] Yeah, honestly, it took me about a couple hours. [4:58] You know, I got home. [5:00] Braden Fisk, Byron Young both came to my house. [5:02] They sat down with me, each of them individually. [5:04] I got to sit down with them and talk to them [5:06] and say my goodbyes and everything like that. [5:08] And it was about when Fisk left my house, [5:10] I was like, damn, like, all right, it's time to work. [5:14] Like, you know, I don't get to be teammates with, you know, [5:15] essentially my best friend no more. [5:17] So that was just a bad factor of the party thing. [5:20] Carson's left to you. [5:28] What's exciting is that potential pairing? [5:34] Man, that boy can fly. [5:35] Nah, he can work. [5:37] I like that a lot. [5:37] I like knowing that behind me that I can, [5:39] and I don't got much to worry about if something, you know, [5:41] I can play freely because I don't have to worry [5:43] if something gets by me. [5:44] He's going to be able to handle that. [5:45] He's going to be able to clean everything up. [5:46] So, nah, that's the exciting factor of it. [5:48] What's your journey to the NFL, high school, [5:55] certain motivations, how much has your path, [5:58] as unique as it was, going to Albany, [6:00] and transferring to Florida State? [6:01] How has that kind of molded you with the person you are [6:04] and the mentality that you're going to be? [6:05] Yeah, I'm used to, you know, hard situations. [6:08] I'm used to having to deal with something hard [6:10] and, you know, transfer that to being a better version of myself. [6:12] I'm used to being at organizations or teams, you know. [6:15] In college, Albany wasn't, you know, [6:16] the most winning team and everything like that. [6:18] When I got to the Rams, you know, they wasn't the most, [6:20] you know, they still was getting dubs, [6:21] but they wasn't like, you know, up there like that. [6:23] But, you know, every step of the way is just getting better. [6:25] You know, I'm excited to just keep working. [6:27] And today was a big factor that watching how the guys are in the weight room, [6:32] how they are in the field, like, them boys are flying. [6:34] Like, I'm like, all right, like, y'all not messing around. [6:36] Y'all not going to lose again. [6:37] So we're not going to lose with the way them boys moving. [6:41] Part of being upset about this in the initial going [6:43] was the fact that maybe the Browns out there nationally [6:47] don't have the greatest reputation in the world [6:50] and that once you did get here [6:52] and just get a feel for it a little bit, [6:55] you're like, this isn't anything like what you hear when you're out there? [7:00] Yeah, I mean, you can tell how a team is by how they practice. [7:03] You see losing teams practice terribly. [7:06] You see great teams practice amazingly. [7:08] It translates. [7:09] That's not a losing team out there. [7:10] The way everybody was moving, [7:12] I didn't get to, you know, get into the team situations today. [7:14] You know, that's going to be another day. [7:15] But the way them boys are moving, this isn't a losing team. [7:18] Nobody's moving around like they're slow, [7:20] like they're feeling sorry for themselves. [7:21] People are moving like they were intent. [7:23] Like they are not going to miss the opportunity to play in January, [7:26] to play in February, to play in that big game. [7:28] Any connection on this team to you? [7:31] Any familiar face of your past? [7:34] Yeah, Jeremiah Byers, I think he's a guard now. [7:37] Me and him were at Florida State together. [7:38] And KT Levenson, me and him were at the Rams together. [7:41] So those two tackles I was messing up. [7:45] There's only one of my scared, obviously. [7:47] You've already, you know, started your career really, really well. [7:50] Just how do you, I guess, deal with coming in here, [7:55] maybe not replacing him, but like, you know, [7:58] you're the guy that they, you know, they traded him for. [8:01] And just, you know, what's your mentality coming in here, [8:04] maybe trying to fill those shoes as best as you can? [8:07] Yeah, I mean, you know, I'm not here to fill anyone's shoes. [8:10] Miles, you know, he's a size 13, you know, Nikes, whatever they are. [8:13] But, you know, I'm a size, you know, 13 and a half, size 14 Jordans. [8:17] Like, everybody's different. [8:18] I'm not here to fill his shoes. [8:19] I'm here to bring my own. [8:20] I buy my own. [8:20] I'm here to work, and I'm here to be the best version of me. [8:22] The best version of me is going to be the best defensive player in the league. [8:25] And the best defensive player in the league is going to play for the best defense in the league. [8:28] And that's why I testament, like, make myself a testament to. [8:30] How would you describe your game? [8:33] It's violent. [8:34] It's very violent. [8:35] It's very mean. [8:36] It's very, why are you in my way? [8:38] I play angry because I'm like, why do you think you can block me? [8:41] And if you, you know, get the best of me, oh, so you're game playing for me. [8:44] All right, so I got something else for you. [8:46] Like, it's a very violent game when you're against me. [8:48] I know you're just getting to know him, but what were your first impressions of both Todd Monk and Mike Rittenberg? [8:54] Boys, what? [8:55] I like it. [8:56] Like I said, like, them boys, everybody in here is working. [8:58] Like, it's not, like, a lack of, like, effort. [9:00] That's the one that you can never say. [9:02] It's not a lack of skill. [9:02] Them boys are working, and they're doing moves. [9:04] I'm like, all right. [9:06] Like, these boys, everybody's good. [9:08] I like it. [9:11] So you want to beat yourself out here first game. [9:13] The Browns fans need to know about you. [9:15] What do you want them to know about the player, the person that's coming in to their city? [9:20] Yeah, you know, I'm about a lot of things. [9:22] I'm a big family person. [9:23] I love my family. [9:24] I love my friends. [9:25] I care about, you know, the people that are close to me more than anything. [9:27] But the one thing I hold above all, you know, besides God, because obviously God's above all, is work. [9:32] Work is the most important thing to me. [9:34] All I care about is lifting. [9:35] All I care about is running. [9:36] All I care about is how I can get faster, how I can get this step a little bit smaller, how I can, you know, translate this to the field. [9:42] That's all I care about, and all I care about is being the best me. [9:45] That's all that matters. [9:45] Perhaps there might be something to be said for kind of coming in here when the foundation of this team is being built. [9:54] All you guys are so young. [9:56] This is the new core of a team that is probably going to be on the rise. [10:00] Is there something to be said for that maybe over a really established team? [10:05] How do you feel about that situation? [10:07] Yeah, no, I feel great about it. [10:09] You know, when you go into a younger team and a younger situation, a lot of people, their heads are all over the place. [10:13] Some people are talking too much. [10:14] Some people don't take this seriously, don't take that seriously. [10:17] That's not the problem here. [10:18] Like, the problem here is everybody wants to work too much. [10:21] Like, hey, slow it down. [10:21] Like, hey, let's figure out the little techniques of this stuff. [10:24] Like, everybody here is, like, so focused, driven, and so wanting to be a best version of themselves. [10:28] And I think that's, like, that's such a testament to just the new coaching staff and the new, you know, foundation that everyone's about to lay down. [10:34] How long is it, retiring and everything, how much that experience helped you to connect? [10:47] Oh, yeah, I mean, 100% that helped me, you know, exponentially. [10:51] Like, you go in with some of your best friends, some of the younger guys, and you realize, hey, we might be a year apart, two years apart, but all we care about is how we can be the best version of us on that field. [11:00] Sundays are the most important thing, so we just spend so much time outside of football, outside of the team-designated activities, watching film together, getting to know each other. [11:08] Because when you know somebody, you play harder for them. [11:10] It's like experience is huge. [11:12] I'm sorry, you said what? [11:13] I said postseason experience is huge, and you've been in the league for a couple years, and you've had quite a bit already. [11:17] This team, obviously, is very young in France. [11:21] What can you team that... [11:29] Yeah, I mean, you know, during the regular season, every game matters. [11:33] You know, the first thing before even worrying about the playoffs is making the playoffs, you know, before even worrying about how we're going to win in the playoffs. [11:39] And once you get there, the margin for error is so small. [11:43] You can't mess up. [11:44] If you take one step too wide, boom, the B gap's wide open, and they're running you for 60 yards down the field. [11:49] You take one step too small, the edge is wide open, and they're taking you 40 yards down the field, getting stopped at the one, and now they're in field goal range. [11:56] The margin of error is so small in the playoffs, but before the playoffs, you even got to focus about the regular season. [12:00] Before the regular season, you got to focus on the preseason. [12:02] Before the preseason, you got camp. [12:04] Before the camp, we got today. [12:05] So that's all I'm focused on right now. [12:13] I ain't even, honestly, I ain't even watch football until I got to college. [12:16] I was really just enjoying life. [12:19] I was being like a little kid out there, messing around, playing in the sun and stuff like that, just messing around. [12:24] I ain't watch football until I got to college and stuff. [12:27] I still never had a favorite team. [12:30] I just kind of lived. [12:30] I don't know. [12:31] I don't know. [12:31] I don't know. [12:31] I not. [12:31] I don't know.