The Cleveland Browns’ Week 2 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has many benefits aside from it being a win in the standings. It has perhaps boosted the fans’ confidence in head coach Todd Monken and quarterback Deshaun Watson heading into the home opener on Sunday.
Plus, it has allowed them to overlook some important players who are underperforming, most notably Jared Verse. The edge rusher has failed to deliver on expectations that he would be a suitable replacement for Myles Garrett along the defensive line.
Even though Verse does not have a sack and just one pressure in his first two games with the Browns, defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg isn’t worried about the slow start, saying there is bound to be improvement.
“I’m really excited about the way [Jared Verse is] approaching the game. He’s trying his butt off. He’s doing a lot of really good things. On the play at the end of the game where the ball went up and we had the huge play in the back of the end zone, towards the end of the game, credit to Jared Verse chasing Baker [Mayfield] from the backside. I’m excited for him, and I know it will continue to get better,” Rutenberg said.
After arriving from the Los Angeles Rams in the Garrett trade, Verse made an outstanding impression with his talent, work ethic, and leadership. That has yet to pay off in the regular season, as he has just five combined tackles, with only one against the Buccaneers.
That stat line could have started to generate some criticism had the Browns not held on for the victory with a late-game stand following a long weather delay. As Rutenberg said, Verse was able to influence Mayfield on the game-ending incomplete pass.
Yet, the two-time Pro Bowler is ranked 87th out of 112 edge defenders in the NFL this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Though he has never been known for gaudy sack numbers, with 12.0 in 34 games with the Rams, Verse has just one QB hit with Cleveland, after posting 27 last year with Los Angeles.
Perhaps not enough consideration was given to the fact that Verse was joining a new team in June, adapting to a new city and coaching staff on the fly. He is still a young player, at 25 years old in his third NFL season, so perhaps his adjustment period is ongoing.
Verse has too much talent to be kept off the stat sheet for long, and he could rise to the challenge of facing the Carolina Panthers’ high-scoring offense in Week 3.
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