Jared Verse loathes 49ers for personal reason Rams fans will easily understand

When there's football to be played, no one on the Blue and Yellow side of the fence is chumming it up with anyone in Red and Gold. San Francisco. The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers share one of the West Coast's bitterest rivalries, hardened by years of excellence. Every season, it seems, they are at each other's throats in the playoff race. 

On top of an ingrained spirit of professional enmity, Rams outside linebacker Jared Verse also has a personal reason to despise his NFL brethren in the Bay. That reason is simple, as he was more than happy to explain earlier this week on The Jim Rome Show. 

“I respect San Francisco. I respect the team that they have, I respect the O-linemen, I respect the scheme that they run, (and) the people that they have on their roster. But I hate San Francisco at the same time because of this: Two of my teammates from Florida State, Tatum Bethune and Renardo Green, both play defense for them." 

It's only more significant for Verse that Bethune, a linebacker, and Green, who plays cornerback, shared in the glory of the Seminoles' undefeated season in 2023, the trio's final year in college. 

Everyone knows how it is. Sure, you root for your friends, but in a head-to-head matchup? That's when the competitive juices flow strongest.

Verse brings individual rivalry to Rams-49ers feud 

The fiercest of NFC West foes will kick off 2026 in Australia, a setting that has already fueled some testy discourse. For Verse, seeing his former teammates in enemy colors only intensifies his fundamental sense of loathing. 

He's not alone. Bethune and Green are equally stone-cold. 

"We take things really serious. We don’t say, ‘Hi’ to each other pregame. We’re talking trash to each other. There’s no dap-ups, there’s no high-fives, there’s nothing like that. They walk by me, I walk by them."

It's all business, and a bitter business at that. Having joined the other side, an ex-teammate represents a special kind of foe. Feed the inner fire higher. 

Of course, that's life in pro sports. Players can't control where they're drafted. Verse went first among the trio in 2024, falling to the Rams at No. 19. Bethune went to the 49ers at 64th overall. Bethune followed at No. 251, one of the very last players taken.

All are off to solid starts in their NFL careers. Last year for the 49ers, Green and Bethune appeared in 28 total games and made 22 starts, helping hold together a defense that dissolved under injuries. 

For his part, Verse no doubt takes pleasure in having enjoyed the most success thus far. During his controversial first season, he was named a Pro Bowler, an All-Pro, and Defensive Rookie of the Year. 

Although his sophomore season was disappointing to some, he increased his sack total to 7.5, registered 27 quarterback hits (per Pro Football Reference), and drastically decreased his missed tackle count to four all year. Pro Football Focus still graded him 11th among all edge rushers, while crediting him with the sixth-most pressures. Not bad. 

Entering Year 3, Verse eagerly anticipates the clash Down Under, which counts as a Rams home game. 

"So now we gotta go all the way to Australia to do this, it's going to be at even a higher level. Now, when we beat them, I can say, I'm beating your A outside the country, too. … I can beat you anywhere we go."

Besting his one–time FSU allies will make victory all the sweeter.