Shortly after defensive superstar Aaron Donald officially announced his retirement in March 2024, the Los Angeles Rams grabbed edge-rusher Jared Verse in the first round of that year’s NFL Draft.
While the two never shared a locker room together, Verse eventually learned what kind of “psychopath” Donald is as it pertains to staying in shape. Verse is now a Cleveland Browns player via the June trade that resulted in the Rams acquiring two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.
During a Wednesday appearance on NFL Network, Verse explained why he isn’t yet fully buying the recent rumors that are suggesting it is a matter of when and not if Donald will come out of retirement to rejoin the Rams for the 2026 season.
Jared Verse is ignoring Aaron Donald return rumors
“Man, when a lot of people retire, they done for good,” Verse said, per Josh Buckhalter of Heavy. “But if anybody could unretire and come back and play, it’d be AD. But I genuinely –- me, personally -– I don’t believe he’s unretiring until he says, ‘I’m coming back.’ When he says he’s doing something, when he says, ‘I’m retired,’ he’s retired. If he says he’s coming back, he’s coming back. Until I hear from the horse’s mouth, I ain’t hearing nothing else.”
Donald has not yet officially revealed anything about his intentions for the upcoming campaign. However, a recent update indicated that the 35-year-old “wants to be the best version of himself” and “wants to go the full season if he comes back.” Thus, one would think that he could confirm his status for the season either before or shortly after veteran Rams players report for training camp on July 25.
Jared Verse reflects on being traded from the Rams to the Browns
As for Verse, he went from playing for the betting favorites to win Super Bowl LXI in February 2027 to a Cleveland team that is coming off a 5-12 season. During the NFL Network segment, he spoke honestly about being part of the trade package that landed the Rams Garrett.
“I’d be lying to y’all if I said it didn’t hurt, if it didn’t bother me,” Verse admitted about the trade. “You build relationships with people, you build a routine. Then, you start getting close and start imagining your whole career in one place. And then, you don’t get a warning. It just kind of pops up on you one day, and you just got to swallow. It’s a big pill you got to swallow. You’re like, ‘All right, it changes everything.’ …Once I got to Cleveland, I met the coaches. I met my teammates, I met the staff [and] I saw the vision that they not only have for me, but for the whole team. I started getting excited. I started getting hyped up. I was like, ‘Man, forget this offseason, this little camp, preseason. Let’s get right to the season right now.'”
The Browns reportedly had “a lighter, more unified defensive line” in the closing days of springtime workouts after the blockbuster trade. That said, Verse undeniably has big shoes to fill, as some Cleveland fans inevitably will see him as the replacement for one of the greatest overall defensive players of the 2000s.
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