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Browns fans doing Jared Verse a disservice with Myles Garrett comparisons
Cleveland Browns' Jared Verse. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Browns fans doing Jared Verse a disservice with Myles Garrett comparisons

By Olamilekan Ajayi  |  Last updated Jul 9, 2026 12:24 AM ET
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Cleveland sports radio host Anthony Lima of 92.3 The Fan told his audience that projecting Myles Garrett-level expectations onto new Browns defensive end Jared Verse is both unfair to the player and a setup for permanent disappointment.

"Everything we are doing right now is a total disservice to Verse," Lima said. "You guys are throwing all this stuff to overcompensate for not having Myles Garrett. He's gonna be a fraction of the player Myles Garrett is. He's not gonna be in the same universe as Myles Garrett. If you keep throwing these expectations on him before he's ever played a game with the Browns, you're gonna be looking forever, and he's never gonna measure up. He's never gonna be close to Myles Garrett."

Myles Garrett set the NFL sack record with 23 in 2025

The standard Lima is describing is genuinely historic. Garrett's nine seasons in Cleveland produced 125.5 sacks in 134 games, a franchise record by a wide margin. In 2025, he set the NFL's single-season sack record with 23, becoming the first player since 1982 to register at least 12 sacks in six consecutive seasons and the only player with an active streak of eight consecutive campaigns with at least 10 sacks.

He earned two Defensive Player of the Year awards and was a seven-time All-Pro selection. Per an official statement from Browns managing and principal partners Dee and Jimmy Haslam, Garrett is "one of the best defensive players in the history of the game."

Verse arrives with his own genuine credentials. The 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year, he posted 12 sacks and 22 tackles for loss across his first two NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. He is a two-time Pro Bowl selection and, by his own description, was a non-negotiable piece of the trade.

Verse told reporters he was informed the deal would not have happened without his inclusion. At his introduction in Cleveland, Verse made his own position on the comparison clear.

"I'm not here to fill his shoes," Verse said. "I'm here to bring my own. I'm here to work and be the best version of me. The best version of me is going to be the best defensive player in the league. The best defensive player in the league is going to play for the best defense in the league."

Browns commentator Nathan Zegura offered a more optimistic take from what he observed at minicamp. On 92.3 The Fan, Zegura said Verse had been "impossible to miss at minicamp with his quickness and speed off the edge."

Browns Hall of Famer Joe Thomas, also on the station, framed the real challenge plainly. 

"The defense, because they were so good the last several years, the expectations are higher. There's gonna be a challenge to meet expectations of seasons past on defense," Thomas said.

Lima's warning is not a criticism of Verse; a player who enters a new city with 12 career sacks should be evaluated against the player he actually is, not against someone who set a record. 

How quickly those two conversations can be separated by fans in Cleveland is a question that training camp and the 2026 season will begin to answer.

Olamilekan Ajayi

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