Here we are, heading into Week 6 of the Cleveland Browns‘ 2026 slate, and star defensive end Jared Verse is in a pretty remarkable position, one he pledged to avoid back in the summer as training camp was running down. Verse lamented that, despite his obvious talents and the two Pro Bowl nods he earned in his three seasons with the Rams, he had not made a significant dent on the sack charts. He had 12.0 in two seasons in LA.

Having been traded as part of a package for the NFL‘s record-holding single-season sack leader, Myles Garrett, Verse seemed to understand that he would need to be far, far more productive in not just generating pressures but converting them to sacks.

Jared Verse Has Struggled With Browns

Here in the early part of the Browns’ season, Verse has on only been a shadow of Garrett, but he has been a shadow of his own self compared to his first two years. His determination to add more sacks to his stat sheet has taken a decidedly different turn altogether. Verse is on pace for zero sacks in 2026, mostly because he has had zero sacks in five games thus far.

It’s hard to see Verse as being a worthwhile Garrett replacement if he can’t get to the quarterback. He is not even pressuring this quarterback, and is only credited with three pressures at Football Reference.

But defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg defended his struggling would-be star on Thursday.

Said Rutenberg: “Anytime you move from team to team, system to system, I imagine there’s the normal adjustment. But in terms of the techniques and fundamentals, he’s picking up really, really well. He’s understanding the attack front. He did a lot of that playing his position at the Rams, and you’re seeing that. And I continue to see it every day in practice. I continue to see it in the games, of his get off, of his disruption, of his edge setting and his force as he rushes the passer and creates chaos in there and that continues.”