The Los Angeles Rams have a strong defense, and Jared Verse explained how the news of Matthew Stafford led to him getting the defense to "lock in."
The Los Angeles Rams' losing out on a Super Bowl berth in 2025 could be boiled down to a few plays in the NFC Championship not going their way. The team lost out on the big game, and there was a belief that Matthew Stafford had played his last down.
That wasn't the case, as Stafford announced at NFL Honors that he would return in 2026, following his MVP win. The news not only sparked plenty of praise, but Rams defender Jared Verse revealed it prompted a defensive surge among the defensive players on the team.
Verse admitted that he had no clue Stafford would return and that he was "praying on his hands and knees" that it would happen. When it did, he was sent a text by Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, and Byron Young about "locking in."
In an exclusive interview with D.J. Sadiqqi, Verse said the Stafford news has led to a defensive surge of getting better in 2026.
"Kobie (Turner) texted me, Braden Fiske and Byron Young and he was like, 'Hey, he's coming back, we gotta lock it,'" Verse said. "We’ve got to take it to another level now. This is the time.'"
Verse has been one of the biggest critics of his own work, and rightfully so. The Rams were clearly not good enough to get the job done, and it will take the unit to band together to get better and elevate in a way that they can take down the awaiting NFC competition.
With Stafford's return, Verse said that he and the rest of the defense are "going harder."
"We all just started going harder. Kobie is going harder. Fiske is going harder. B-Young is doing everything he can to get better. I'm doing the exact same. Follow right behind him. We’ve got to do this together," Verse said.
The young Rams defense is a major reason why the team has been competitive in recent years, and all aforementioned players had a strong 2025 season.
Verse ended the 2025 season with 7.5 sacks, Turner brought in seven, Fiske had three, and Young led with 12 sacks. The defenders brought in 29.5 sacks alone, while some teams failed to reach that number in their entire defensive season.
Whether or not Verse believes that Stafford will walk away following the 2026 season, his promise to get better makes sense, as stated above, the team was a few short plays away from making the big game.
Being complacent also never helps any player, and that is certainly not the Rams or Verse. He has been heavily critical of his own performances and called out the defense following the NFC Championship against the Seahawks.
Back in February, Verse was on "The Pivot" podcast, where he chalked up the loss to the defense having a "young mindset."
"I think this is just me being completely blatantly honest. I think it was a young mindset," Verse said.
"We all hyped up all week," Verse added. "We're like, 'Yeah, we're going to beat them again. We know what we learned from last time.' And then when we start having trouble -- early on, they throw a big play, everybody's kind of like, s------- the bed. Like, 'Oh, what do we do now? This isn't going the way we thought this was going to go. They're not laying down.'"
With the NFC Championship in the review mirror, the Rams must now prepare for a host of new challenges in 2026, which includes the Seahawks remaining a viable threat. However, with Stafford back in the building, Los Angeles has a much better shot.
Should the defense elevate in the manner that Verse says they will, this Rams team could be at the top when the Super Bowl comes around.