Rookie Hybrid Jared Verse Swerves from Hating Philly Fans to Praising Them

This will surely make the summer brighter for Eagles fans – Jared Verse no longer hates you. You remember Verse, the rookie outside linebacker/edge rusher, declaring his hatred for you days before the Los Angeles Rams visited Lincoln Financial Field for the NFC Divisional Round playoff game?

He sang a different tune during a recent interview on Whistle Sports when he was asked to name the NFL’s best opposing fan base.

“Probably the Eagles,” Verse said. “I've got to give them that. I like when you kind of like get into it, you're aggressive, you're loud and all that stuff. They stand by that with no doubt.”

It’s a far cry from what he said in the days leading up to the Rams’ game against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

Here’s a refresher: “I hate Eagles fans," he told the L.A. Times back then. "They're so annoying. I hate Eagles fans.”

The dude even went to high school in Pennsylvania, albeit, more than two hours outside the Philadelphia city limits. Yet, his love affair never developed with the Eagles. Clearly, and the statement certainly didn’t earn him any friends among the fan base.

So, of course, he was booed vociferously during the playoff game. Verse seemed to feed off it and had a monster game with three tackles for loss and two sacks. The Rams lost anyway, 28-22, thanks in part to their own defensive line monster, Jalen Carter, and the Eagles rolled in their next two games, outscoring the Commanders and Chiefs by a combined 95-45 to win their second Lombardi Trophy in seven seasons.

Verse will see the Eagles – and their fans – again this year when the Rams visit in Week 3, Sept. 21. He will return as the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year, and more understanding of Eagles fans. It’s not likely Verse’s new tune will play well with them, and he will likely hear the boos again.

“Playing the Eagles is like playing your rival in college,” he said. “You never know what they're going to say, and they're gonna try to say disrespectful stuff. Don't get me wrong, they're not gonna say anything where you're like, ‘Bro, you crossed a line,’ but they're gonna say some stuff where you're like, 'Who you talkin' to?’”