Cleveland Browns linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. (5) is taken off the field after rupturing his left quad tendon during a Sept. 22 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cleveland. (AP photo)
CLEVELAND — Heading into this year’s NFL Draft, linebacker seemed like a position of need for the Browns — but ultimately, went unaddressed.
So can the Browns count on their returning linebackers, despite a slew of players returning from season-ending injuries?
It may be a tough ask, given how injury timelines can generally be fickle given the nature of the game. But Cleveland may be able to get away with it given the linebackers’ jobs as cleanup men in new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s scheme.
First, a rundown of the injuries from last year, as the Browns had five linebackers suffer season-ending injuries in 2022:
Anthony Walker Jr. was first, as Cleveland’s starting middle linebacker ruptured his left quad tendon in Week 3 chasing down a screen play during the Browns’ Thursday night game against the Steelers.
Four weeks later, Walker’s replacement as the team’s starting mike linebacker, Jacob Phillips, went down against the Ravens making a tackle on the sideline and tearing his left pectoral muscle. Then Sione Takitaki, who was having a breakout year, tore his ACL against the Texans in Week 13 on a special teams sequence. The following week, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah suffered a foot injury against the Bengals. Finally, Jordan Kunaszyk suffered a hand injury Week 17 prior to the Commanders game and missed the final two contests.
All five players are back, with both Walker and Kunaszyk re-signing in free agency. Owusu-Koramoah, Phillips and Kunaszyk all got on the field in OTAs and minicamp, while Walker and Takitaki worked off to the side. The room also returns Tony Fields II, who got some key defensive reps throughout all the injuries and became a key special teams contributor. They added Matthew Adams in free agency as well, and he will likely be a key special teams guy.
But for the two guys who remained working off to the side in Berea this offseason, things still seem to be on track. In early May, Walker said his rehab was progressing well.
“By training camp, we want to be full-go and we want to be a 1,000 percent good to go by the first game,” Walker said.
Takitaki said in January that following surgery he was on track for a 10-month return, which would roughly be October.
“The one thing that I know about both of those guys is they’ve really learned — they’ve had enough offseasons under their belt, and I’ve said this about Sione before, he’s really learned how to be a pro,” linebacker coach Jason Tarver said at minicamp. “They’re both pros in how they treat everything they do. Like our linebacker reviews, they were doing ‘em all no matter whether they were here or not, or they had to go to doctor’s appointment. So they were really good with that. We trust them to know their bodies to be able to go … I got full trust in Sione and Anthony.”
But what about the new responsibilities for the linebackers?
In Schwartz’s system, everything starts up front. For the defensive line, it’s a simplified system where guys are doing everything in their power to get to the quarterback. The linebacker responsibilities become more, as Tarver explained, about cleaning things up.
“The guys rushing going forward, whether we’re involved in a blitz or whether it’s the four D-lineman, their job is to mess stuff up, wreck things,” he said. “Our job is to fix it.”
The linebackers have to move, react, and clean things up, essentially as the D-lineman home in on QBs. Also, don’t be surprised to only see two linebackers on the field at times, perhaps in favor of an extra safety or even five down linemen.
That sort of read, react, cleanup mindset could be key for guys like Owusu-Koramoah, Takitaki, and Fields — as long as they can remain healthy — given their athleticism and sideline-to-sideline ability. It’s also key to get Walker back, considering he is one of the best communicators on the entire team.
Yes, anytime players return from season-ending injuries, it’s somewhat of a gamble. But that’s also just the nature of the sport.
And in this defensive system, if you have to pick between upgrading the D-line or adding to the linebacker room, the former makes more sense given the system you are installing.
