Trading Myles Garrett fresh off a record-setting 23-sack season is the kind of move that can easily get an NFL GM fired, but you’re not hearing many people calling for Andrew Berry to be shown the door. However, few fans have an issue with the way things went down because Jared Verse was sent to Cleveland in his place alongside some great draft capital.
Verse had 7.5 sacks last season and could certainly continue to progress into a perennial double-digit sack threat for years to come. He won’t be expected to single-handedly replace Garrett, but he fits this defense’s timeline perfectly and most believe he’ll hit the ground running with a big 2026.
The Athletic’s Zac Jackson pushed back on the Verse hype ever so slightly during a recent appearance on The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show when he said he doesn’t believe Verse is a top edge rusher in the league. He may be right about that for now until Verse takes another step forward, but overall, he still believes Verse will be a significant contributor for this team for a long time.
“I don’t think he’s a top edge rusher in football, but he’s a phenomenal football player. He is stylistically so different than most of [the top edge rushers]. He is power first. We’re not trying to get Myles Garrett. They were trying to get a really good football player, who, in the locker room and in the field, is going to contribute to this team in the long term,” Jackson said.
ESPN released its latest edge rusher rankings ahead of the 2026 season. 👀🏈@AkronJackson says while Jared Verse may not be an elite edge rusher just yet, the new #Browns star is a phenomenal football player. 🔥https://t.co/nltj6tWUkR pic.twitter.com/FbLgNq5Lj3
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) July 9, 2026
ESPN has been releasing top ten lists ranking players at every position recently, and with the amount of talent at edge rusher around the league, it’s understandable that Verse isn’t there yet. That’s not a knock on him and he could absolutely push his way into that conversation over the next year or two if he continues on his current trajectory.
While replacing 23 sacks is unreasonable, there are insiders who believe Verse can actually be a better fit in the locker room than Garrett was. His personality and leadership were on full display at OTAs and it wouldn’t be surprising at all if this team and fan base fell in love with him quickly as they get to know him better.
Berry was adamant about getting Verse in the Garrett trade and would not have made the deal without him. There are a lot of reasons why he was so determined to make that happen, and Browns fans are in for a real treat once they see their new future top-ten pass rusher on the field for the first time.
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