Tag: Browns injury update

Browns rookie LB Tony Fields sidelined with a foot injury

Fields will miss an undisclosed amount of time to start training camp

Tony Fields will have to wait to make his Cleveland Browns debut. The fifth-round rookie from West Virginia is sidelined from the start of training camp with a foot injury.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski indicated in his press session that it’s a different injury than the previous foot injury Fields suffered earlier this spring. It’s the other foot.

Stefanski gave no timeline on any potential return for Fields beyond stating he will “miss time”.  The speedy rookie was expected to compete for a reserve LB job as well as on special teams, but the injury slows down any momentum Fields might have carried from his recent draft status.

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Running back D’Ernest Johnson was also absent from Wednesday’s training camp session. Stefanski said Johnson was excused for personal reasons, which are believed to be related to the birth of his daughter.

Odell Beckham Jr. ‘looks great’, expected to attend Browns minicamp

Beckham is back to his old self athletically

Odell Beckham Jr. is having a quiet offseason, at least relative to most years for the flamboyant Browns wide receiver. He’s working hard at rehabilitating and recovering from his torn ACL and subsequent knee surgery from last fall.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler offered a very encouraging update on Beckham during a Sportscenter report.

“I’m told that from those who worked out with him at the EXOS facility in Arizona recently that he looked like his normal self. I talked to a veteran player who was there who said ‘he’s doing his normal one-handed catch, cuts and runs, looks great’,” Fowler reported on Sunday.

Fowler continued,

“He has not been in Cleveland yet. He will most likely be there for mandatory minicamp.”

That would put Beckham at the team’s facility in Berea on June 15th for the three-day minicamp.

As Fowler noted, it’s been a different vibe with “OBJ” and the Browns this offseason, what with no credible trade rumors or unfounded talks that he’s a misfit and a troublemaker.

Rookie LB Tony Fields out for rookie minicamp with a foot injury

The injury was discovered in Fields’ physical this week

The start of the NFL career for Browns’ fifth-round draft pick Tony Fields will have to wait a while. Fields will miss this weekend’s rookie minicamp and could miss more time afterward with a foot injury.

Coach Kevin Stefanski revealed Fields, a linebacker from West Virginia, will be sidelined some time with the foot injury. Stefanski noted, “it’s not a concern long term,” per cleveland.com. Stefanski also indicated the injury will not require any surgical procedures.

The injury was discovered in Fields’ physical with the team. He signed his rookie contract on Thursday. Fields is expected to compete right away on special teams and as a reserve in the base defense.

 

Browns secondary had the most missed games in 2020

The Browns run of DB injuries started at the beginning of training camp

One of the big lessons the Cleveland Browns learned in 2020 is that no team can ever have too much depth in the secondary. Cleveland learned that the hard way, thanks to myriad injuries from the very start of training camp, as well as some COVID-19 concerns later in the season.

The analysts at Football Outsiders tracked down the number of games lost by every team at every position group for the 2020 season. No team lost more games to defensive backs than the Browns did during the season. And it wasn’t particularly close.

From the rash of devastating injuries in training camp which wiped out the entire seasons for projected starting safety Grant Delpit and cornerback Greedy Williams and several games for slot corner Kevin Johnson to the concussion issues that hit CB Denzel Ward and safety Ronnie Harrison during the year, the Browns were constantly in scramble mode to find enough healthy defensive backs to field a team. They lost 45.8 adjusted games, as Football Outsiders explains,

Cleveland suffered more adjusted games lost in their secondary (45.8) than they did across their entire offense (31.4). The team lost its second-round draft picks from the past two seasons, Grant Delpit (16.0, Achilles) and Greedy Williams (16.0, shoulder), for the entire season. Denzel Ward (4.8, calf) and Ronnie Harrison (5.1, head and shoulder) also missed time. The Browns finished 8.6 AGL ahead of the Seahawks in second place and had more than double the total of two-thirds of the teams in the league.

Across all positions, the Browns ranked 11th out of 32 in games lost. The San Francisco 49ers, arguably the most disappointing team of 2020, had the highest total.

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Greedy Williams offers up an encouraging update on his health status

Williams missed 2020 with a nerve injury in his shoulder

Could Greedy Williams be back and in the Cleveland Browns lineup in 2021? Based on a tweet from the injury-plagued cornerback, it’s sounding more and more likely.

Williams tweeted out the “#ReturnOfGreedy” on Thursday. It’s an encouraging sign from Williams, who missed the entire 2020 season with nerve damage in his shoulder suffered in a training camp incident.

Williams attempted to rehab and get back on the field last season but was ultimately unable to get enough strength and function back in the shoulder and nerve to make it to the active roster. He was placed on injured reserve in October.

Williams was a starter at outside CB in his rookie season in 2019. If he can get back on the field, be it as a starter or the top reserve, it’s a major boon for the Browns beleaguered secondary. With Terrance Mitchell and Kevin Johnson slated for free agency, a Williams return is a pleasant surprise.

Coach Stefanski expects full recoveries from Grant Delpit and Greedy Williams

Coach Stefanski expects full recoveries from Grant Delpit and Greedy Williams

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Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is expecting some prominent reinforcements from within to the team’s defensive backfield in 2021. Two recent high draft picks who missed the entire 2020 season, safety Grant Delpit and cornerback Greedy Williams, are expected to fully recover from their injuries according to Stefanski.

Delpit was the team’s second-round pick in 2020, while Williams came in the same round a year earlier. Both are from LSU.

“I am excited about both of those guys. Unfortunate injuries,” Stefanski said in his season-ending press conference via Zoom. “They are just going to continue to rehab and work through those injuries. That is the exciting part for us to get some of those guys back next season.”

Delpit tore his Achilles in a non-contact drill in training camp in August. He was already working with the starters in the 3-safety package and was expected to play a significant role as a rookie.

Williams was a projected starter in 2020 after starting all 12 games he played in his rookie season. He suffered a nerve injury in his shoulder during a training camp drill.

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Final Browns injury report for divisional weekend: No players ruled out, 4 questionable vs. Chiefs

The Browns are finally getting healthy

There is very good news with the final Cleveland Browns injury report for the week leading into Sunday’s AFC divisional round matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. No Browns players have been ruled out due to injury, and all players have been activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list.

The final injury report lists four Cleveland players as questionable:

  • RT Jack Conklin (knee/hamstring)
  • TE David Njoku (hamstring)
  • LB B.J. Goodson (hamstring)
  • TE Stephen Carlson (groin)

Four key players who were limited in practice during the week carry no injury status designation for the game. DE Myles Garrett, DT Sheldon Richardson, center JC Tretter and RG Wyatt Teller are all deemed good to go against the Chiefs.

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Browns injury report for Thursday: Near status quo on the player front

The good news is no players who were limited got worse

The injury report from the Cleveland Browns on Thursday in advance of the AFC divisional round matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs looks very similar to the one the team produced on Wednesday.

Three players — RT Jack Conklin, LB B.J. Goodson and TE David Njoku — remained out from Thursday’s session. Coach Kevin Stefanski did not elaborate on the injury front beyond noting the players’ statuses.

The four players who were limited on Wednesday all stayed in that status on Thursday. DE Myles Garrett, DT Sheldon Richardson, OC JC Tretter and RG Wyatt Teller all worked in some capacity but not fully with the team. They were joined by TE Stephen Carlson, who is listed as limited with a groin injury.

Cleveland holds one more practice on Friday, after which the team will release the official game status for the players.

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Browns injury update: 3 players out, 4 more starters limited in Wednesday’s practice

The list includes 3 of the starting 5 offensive linemen

The first official Cleveland Browns injury report for the divisional round matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs features a lot of prominent names. Three players sat out Wednesday’s practice session in Berea, including All-Pro right tackle Jack Conklin and starting LB B.J. Goodson. Tight end David Njoku also sat out.

Four more starters were limited, most notably All-Pro DE Myles Garrett. Two fellow starters with Conklin on the offensive line, center JC Tretter and right guard Wyatt Teller, were also limited with lingering injuries. Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson rounds out the limited list.

Conklin’s status, missing with a designated knee/hamstring issue, is the most concerning. He left Sunday’s wild-card win over Pittsburgh with the injury and did not return. Kendall Lamm is in line to replace Conklin if he’s not able to play.

Garrett, Teller and Tretter have all played through their respective injuries in recent weeks.

The full practice report from the Browns:

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Postgame injury update: Jack Conklin, Michael Dunn both day-to-day

Both offensive linemen escaped long-term injuries

The injury bug bit the Cleveland Browns offensive line hard on Sunday night during the team’s 48-37 wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fortunately, it seems as if the walking wounded on the front line will be able to play in the divisional round matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.

All-Pro right tackle Jack Conklin left the game early on with a hamstring injury. After heading straight to the locker room for evaluation, Conklin did return to the sidelines but never grabbed a helmet again.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski deemed Conklin as “day-to-day” in his Monday press conference with reporters. “We’ll know more as the week goes on,” coach Stefanski added.

The prognosis was the same for left guard Michael Dunn, who left the game with a calf injury. Dunn was starting in place of Pro Bowler Joel Bitonio, who tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to miss the game. When Dunn left, freshly signed Blake Hance had to finish the game at left guard.

Stefanski offered no new updates on the Browns players currently on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list.

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