Jared Verse hasn’t been part of the Cleveland Browns’ rivalry with the Pittsburgh Steelers for long, but he has made himself a prominent figure in a very short time. After Cleveland’s 27-24 win in Week 4, he called some of Pittsburgh’s players dirty, and leading up to the Week 8 rematch, he said he had been looking forward to dominating them.
Motivated by Verse’s bulletin-board material, the Steelers turned the tables and dominated the Browns in a 27-6 loss. The defensive end was also embarrassed, getting flipped by a Pittsburgh lineman on an extra-point attempt.
That is why former NFL running back Leonard Fournette is sending a stern message to Verse, telling him that he is hurting the Browns with his trash talk.
“Did Jared Verse lose the right to talk after this one? 100 percent. Verse, shut your a** up. You’re hurting the team. You put more pressure on everybody because now, the Steelers are going to come out and try to destroy your a** because of you talking too much. You’re pulling a bulletin on top of your head. Verse, you’re getting slammed on your neck and your back. You’re not earning no respect, my brother,” Fournette said.
“Verse, shut your a** up. You’re hurting the team.” 🗣️
Leonard Fournette has a message for Jared Verse after the Pittsburgh Steelers handled the Cleveland Browns 27-6…#Browns #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/EJbPY00CEp
— 4th and South (@4thAndSouthPod) November 2, 2026
Verse made himself a victim of the Browns’ unexpected success. No longer surrounded by veterans with a history of winning, like he was with the Los Angeles Rams, the 25-year-old was feeling pretty good about Cleveland’s status as the first-place team in the AFC North.
Because he’s only been with the franchise since June, perhaps he was unaware that Cleveland has not won a regular-season game at Pittsburgh since 2003. Or he thought that his arrival was going to be enough to change that dubious streak.
Instead, Verse inspired Pittsburgh, with several of its players referencing his comments in their postgame remarks. Steelers safety Jaquan Brisker went as far as to say Verse “should have kept his mouth shut.”
Verse has failed to provide much production on defense this season, even though his presence has been given some credit for the unit’s overall success. He had just one assisted tackle on Sunday, which gives him just 18 total tackles over eight games, which is a full-season pace of 38.
Most notably, Verse does not have a sack, and that scrutiny is only going to increase until he gets one, especially after he put himself and his teammates in a tough spot in a loss that could turn the season around in a bad way.
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