BEREA, Ohio -- New Browns edge rusher Jared Verse said he's not seeking to replace Myles Garrett after Monday's blockbuster trade that sent him from the Los Angeles Rams to Cleveland.
"I'm not here to fill [Garrett's] shoes," Verse said Wednesday after his first practice with the Browns. "I'm here to bring my own ... I'm here to work, and I'm here to be the best version of me. And the best version of me is going to be the best defensive player in the league. And the best defensive player in the league is going to play for the best defense in the league."
The Browns on Monday traded Garrett, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and holder of the single-season sack record, to the Rams for a package that included Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a conditional 2029 third-round pick. The 2029 pick will become a first-rounder if Garrett is traded to another team in the AFC North, a source told ESPN, confirming a report by Cleveland.com.
Verse, who was selected No. 19 overall by the Rams in the 2024 draft, said the news of the trade caught him by surprise and he called it initially "upsetting." Former Rams teammates Byron Young and Braden Fiske went to Verse's house to speak to him as he unpacked his emotions. By the time they left, Verse thought, "It's time to work."
Verse, the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year and a two-time Pro Bowler, also said what brought him "sunshine" in his wave of emotions was knowing how insistent the Browns were in getting him back in the trade.
"They're not going to get a half-finished product or something you got to work on," Verse, 25, said. "This is going to be the best version of me. Everything I've done this offseason, it's going to be great."
Verse, a native of Dayton, Ohio, arrived in Cleveland late Tuesday afternoon and by Wednesday afternoon, he was on the field in his No. 8 jersey for his first practice as a Brown. He participated only in individual drills during the practice, but Browns coach Todd Monken touted the newest addition to Cleveland's defense.
"He's going to fit us like a glove," Monken said. "... Just be yourself. There's only one of you. Myles is already taken. And he's an elite football player. We all know that. Jared, just be you. I see his track ascending. I see a world of upside by the way he's wired. We're jacked to have him."