Jared Verse Says He Left This Many Sacks on Field

There won’t be any leftovers when Jared Verse and his teammates dine on brisket ravioli during the Rams’ Maui minicamp later this month. But looking back at what stood out most during his rookie year, Verse had plenty of leftovers on the field.

“If I'm being honest with you,” Verse said on this week’s Adam Schefter Podcast, “it was all the mistakes I made and still was able to make an impact.

“Yeah, I was doing a lot of things but I probably left around 10 sacks on the field just from a little too inside, a little too this, a little too that, not taking that extra step. And looking at that, I'm like, ‘Damn, like that's not happening no more.’ So, the things I can do now is a whole different conversation.”

That means a whole different conversation among offensive coordinators who have to scheme to block him. And that’s a scary discussion, considering that Verse earned the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award despite only 4½ sacks.

Selflessly, his 75 pressures and 18 quarterback hits opened lanes for Kobie Turner (8), Byron Young (7½) and college teammate Braden Fiske (8½) to rack up 24 sacks. So, what’s the sack ceiling for Verse in his sophomore NFL season?

“Oh, all I know is it's going to be up,” Verse told Schefter. “That's all I know, because I'm not giving them up like I was last year. I'm going to take that little extra step, keep my feet underneath me and I'm taking everything I get this year. I know that.”

Offensive tackles know it, too. That’s because in Verse’s last game, the near-upset at Philadelphia in the 2024 divisional playoffs, he provided a bit of a sneak preview while posting two sacks. The catalyst in a dominant defensive front, Verse also helped the Rams match a single-game NFL postseason record with nine sacks the week before in a convincing win over Minnesota.

The Rams finished with 16 postseason sacks in just two games. Only Super Bowl champion Philadelphia (16) had as many, despite playing two more postseason contests. Verse explained that the changes the Rams made after the regular season, and the new approach he’ll take into 2025, boils down to one thing.

“Being more intentional,” he said. “Like, my first year, I was kind of like just wild, like, hey, just kind of going out there wild and doing my little thing. Now, I realize how important every step is.
Everything has to be intentional. You do everything for a reason. … You got to be intentional with everything you do.”

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