Jared Verse will always be remembered as the player traded for Myles Garrett. Of course, he was far from the only asset the Cleveland Browns received in exchange for their future first-ballot Hall of Famer, but Verse will always be connected to Garrett going forward.
That's a massive burden to carry — and Verse refuses to do so. He knows he's not Myles Garrett, and he won't even try to be. Instead, he wants to be the best version of Jared Verse he can be, which, objectively, is still pretty good.
That said, he also knows there might be some skepticism out there from fans who may be unfamiliar with his game. He had a simple yet compelling way to describe his approach to every snap he plays:
"It's violent. It's very violent. It's very mean. It's very, 'why are you in my way.' I play angry because I'm like, 'why do you think you can block me.' It's a very violent game when you're against me," Verse said.
Jared Verse wants to build his own legacy with the Browns
That's the type of quote that makes you believe.
Verse was articulate and brutally honest upon his arrival in Cleveland this past week. He admitted that he never wanted to leave Los Angeles, but knowing that the Browns wanted him so badly lit a fire inside of him.
There's no way to replace Garrett, and it will take a full-team effort to make up for his departure. However, Verse was on the short list of ascending young players who could potentially come close to Garrett's greatness once it's all said and done.
Mike Rutenberg, the Browns' first-year defensive coordinator, will have his work cut out for him, but all reports coming out of OTAs have been encouraging. Even without Garrett, this defense is absolutely stacked with playmakers at all three levels, now including the last two Defensive Rookie of the Year winners in Verse and linebacker Carson Schwesinger.
Verse made it clear: He's not here to fill Myles Garrett's shoes, but he still brings an elite skill set to Cleveland.. He's a relentless pass rusher with a knack for keeping the quarterback on his toes, and that violence he talks about pops up on tape right away.
There might be some growing pains, and he'll have to battle recency bias and the burden of being tied to one of the greatest defensive players of all time.
But once people start judging him by who he is instead of who he isn't, this trade will look much better than it did at first.
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