The Cleveland Browns had something of a concern develop on Wednesday, when star pass-rusher Jared Verse was unable to practice because of a knee injury. Granted, Verse has been something of a disappointment in Cleveland to date, struggling to generate pressure and failing to come up with even one sack here seven weeks into the season. For a player who was one of the main return pieces in the Myles Garrett trade, that’s obviously disappointing.
But in meeting with reporters, head coach Todd Monken downplayed the injury. Asked if he was in danger of missing Week 8’s major matchup with the Steelers, Monken said, “I don’t anticipate that. Just a little bit of swelling, and we just thought it’d be good to just keep him off of it.”
Browns Get Jared Verse Back on the Practice Field
But the good news on Thursday: Monken was right, and Verse was back on the Browns practice field.
From reporter Camryn Justice of WEWS news: “#Browns DE Jared Verse returned to practice today after being sidelined yesterday with knee swelling.”
Verse spoke to the media on Thursday, too, and while he did quell some of the chatter between he and Cam Heyward of the Steelers, he did address something more important–his difficulty adjusting from the Rams‘ 3-4 defense, in which he went to the Pro Bowl twice, and the Browns’ 4-3.
Said Verse: “It definitely changes things because you have a little bit more you have to focus on, you have to rush a little bit more as a together unit … I might have made a mistake here or there, I might have won a few reps that in a 3-4 I might not have been able to dominate in. It has it’s pros, it has it’s cons, but every week I’m just trying to learn a little bit more.”
The Browns and Steelers will kick off from Pittsburgh at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Browns Get Good News on Star Before Week 8