Jared Verse shares why he's excited to face 49ers in Australia

Jared Verse and the Los Angeles Rams will “host” the San Francisco 49ers in Australia to start the 2026 season, the NFL’s first regular-season game ever in Melbourne. Kyle Shanahan has already shared his disdain for the 49ers’ trip across the globe, but Verse can’t wait for it.

Not because he wants to see a kangaroo or hold a koala, but because he wants some unique bragging rights over two former teammates of his at Florida State: Tatum Bethune and Renardo Green.

“I respect San Francisco. I respect the team that they have, I respect the O-linemen, I respect the scheme that they run, the people that they have on their roster,” Verse told Jim Rome. “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.

“So whenever we play them, it’s like the biggest beef. We don’t say ‘hi’ to each other pre-game. We’re talking trash to each other. There’s no dap-ups, there’s not high-fives, there’s nothing like that. They walk by me, I walk by them.”

He wants to be able to say he beat them in another country, not just in L.A. or San Francisco.

“So now we’ve got to go all the way to Australia to do this, it’s going to be an even higher level,” he said. “Now, when we beat them, I can say, ‘I’m beating your ‘A’ outside the country, too. It don’t even got to just be in L.A. and San Francisco. I can beat you anywhere we go.’”

It’s about a 14-hour non-stop flight from Melbourne back to California, which is going to feel even longer for whichever team loses that matchup in Week 1. That only heightens the motivation and stakes.

“That’s a long flight back,” Verse said.

Verse isn’t afraid to talk trash and say how he feels, so when he says he hates the 49ers, he means it – even if he respects them, too.

This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams' Jared Verse shares why he's excited to face 49ers in Australia