Browns Get Bad News on the Injury Front

On Monday during his scheduled media availability Cleveland Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski gave an update on the injury report for second year defensive ends Alex Wright and Isaiah Thomas. Both were injured in the teams 21-16 preseason victory last Thursday night versus the New York Jets.

Wright and Thomas were out of practice yesterday and the Browns were awaiting for more details on their injuries today. The team also worked out two defensive end players on Sunday, with both Charles Wiley and Jonathan Garvin in Berea, before practice. When the Browns made the signing of Wiley official on Monday morning, it seemed that bad news was inevitable.

While Stefanski gave no specific details on the nature of their injuries, he did say the injuries are significant and both players will be out for an extended period of time. With the season opener a little over a month away, the fear is that both players will almost certainly miss the start to the season and possibly a significant number of games. Stefanski did say that he expects both players back at some point but gave no timetable for either.

For the Browns, they still have their top three defensive ends on the depth chart in Myles Garrett, Zadarius Smith and Ogbo Okoronkwo, but depth behind them will now run thin. Wright was certainly a lock to make the roster and was projected to play significant snaps not only in the edge rotation but also inside occasionally in certain pass rush sets.

By all accounts Wright had a productive offseason and the team was prepared for him to take the next step on the field in his second year. He certainly looked good in the action he saw in the preseason opener against the Jets, particularly in setting the edge against the run.

 Thomas, was expected to battle to make the final 53 man roster simply as a numbers game due to the amount of resources poured into the position. Thomas probably outperformed last year as a seventh round pick by earning snaps and recording 1.5 sacks. Everyone in the organization is excited to see what kind of jump both of these young players could make under the tutelage of new Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz, but for now those answers will have to wait.