The Cleveland Browns have done everything possible to have a full roster of healthy players going into Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Training camp and preseason games didn’t go perfectly with a few minor injuries, losing Stephen Carlson, Drew Forbes and Greg Senat for the year and placing Jacob Phillips on injured reserve.
The team’s biggest moves this offseason was to try to field a quality defense after significantly struggling on that side of the ball in 2020. The team quickly signed John Johnson III, Takk McKinley, Anthony Walker and Troy Hill. A few weeks later, the team added Jadeveon Clowney.
Clowney, who has struggled to stay healthy most of his career, was one of the players the team protected throughout camp to make sure he was ready to go in Week 1. Unfortunately, Clowney has come down with an illness but the Browns are hoping won’t keep him out of the game against the Chiefs:
#Browns DC Joe Woods said DE Jadeveon Clowney is ill, but he’ll be fine, hopefully he’ll be back in a day or two, and Woods added doesn’t expect Clowney to miss Sunday’s game
— Nate Ulrich (@ByNateUlrich) September 9, 2021
The team has reported that Clowney is not COVID-19 positive and is just ill. Rookie Tony Fields II came up ill for today’s practice as well.
If Clowney is unable to play, McKinley and Joe Jackson would be the only other defensive ends to join Myles Garrett in Week 1. The team could call up Ifeadi Odenigbo, Curtis Weaver or Porter Gustin from the practice squad as well.
The team needs a healthy defense to try to slow down Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs vaunted offense.