A pocket pair of 8s: Browns’ Jared Verse, Dillion …

June 4, 2026 No Comments

Jared Verse, Dillon Gabriel each don No. 8 jersey in Browns practiceplayBrowns GM calls Myles Garrett trade ‘bittersweet’ (0:24)Daniel OyefusiJun 4, 2026, 02:55 PM ETClose

Daniel Oyefusi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN. Prior to ESPN, he covered the Miami Dolphins for the Miami Herald, as well as the Baltimore Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.

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BEREA, Ohio — As new Cleveland Browns defensive end Jared Verse gets acclimated in his new home, he might have to handle some business pertaining to his jersey number.

Verse, who was acquired by the Browns in Monday’s blockbuster trade that sent Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams, was on the field Wednesday for his first practice wearing the No. 8 jersey he has donned for the first two years of his NFL career.

But not too far away was Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel … who was also wearing his usual No. 8 jersey.

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NFL rules permit two players to wear duplicate jersey numbers during the offseason workout program and training camp, when rosters consist of 90 players. Needless to say, though, this number predicament will have to get sorted out at some point.

Gabriel, a 2025 third-round pick, started six games as a rookie but has been taking practice reps behind Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson as the latter two compete to be the Browns’ starting quarterback. Sixth-round pick Taylen Green is also on the roster.

Out in Los Angeles, Garrett mentioned he paid “more than a couple [of bucks]” to get his No. 95 jersey from defensive lineman Poona Ford.

We’ll see if Verse has to do the same in Cleveland.