Analyst Calls Out Browns Defender After Loss To Steelers

After their drama with him during the 2025 NFL offseason, Cleveland Browns fans began to believe Myles Garrett would suit up for the team for the rest of his career. Despite being frustrated with the organization, he signed a massive contract extension heading into the 2025 campaign, winning Defensive Player of the Year in the process.

Fans’ worst nightmares came true after the season, as Garrett was traded to the Los Angeles Rams for a haul of picks and players in return. One of those players was Jared Verse, and while losing Garrett was going to be a huge detriment to their defense, fans were confident in Verse’s abilities to keep them competitive.

Verse did win Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2024, so his previous pedigree spoke for itself at the time of this trade. Despite his previous greatness, Verse has yet to live up to his potential in Cleveland, which is starting to draw some negative attention.

Analyst Daryl Ruiter spoke about this on 92.3’s The Fan, indicating that Verse needs to step up sooner rather than later.

“We’ve got to talk about the elephant in the room, and that’s Jared Verse. He’s yet to make a splash play,” Ruiter said.

"We've gotta talk about the elephant in the room and that's Jared Verse. He's yet to make a splash play."

🚨 @RuiterWrongFAN and @LanceReisland react to the #Browns blowout loss to the #Steelers

🎥 Watch the FULL postgame breakdown here: https://t.co/k8MlvXK9yv https://t.co/jaB4hhINM2 pic.twitter.com/gaKzhoY4pS

— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) November 1, 2026

As Ruiter mentioned, Verse hasn’t just been disappointing, but in his eyes, he hasn’t helped create any big plays for this historically strong defense. Garrett was always a driving force for this team, of course, but the Browns’ front office has always surrounded him with strong talent to help make them a more well-rounded squad.

Verse’s teammates this year have been stepping up, for the most part, as they allow under 22 points per game, but he hasn’t yet reached that same level of excellence. It will be interesting to see if he finds a rhythm in the back half of the season, or if his excellence was merely a byproduct of being in Sean McVay’s system to begin his career.