The Browns will be without one of their key defenders for at least the next four games. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the team has placed linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah on injured reserve.
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Owusu-Koramoah was carted off the field during the third quarter of last weekend’s game. Fortunately, the linebacker avoided a serious, career-altering injury, but it could still be a bit before he takes the field again. In fact, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com warns that Owusu-Koramoah could ultimately be lost for the rest of the 2024 campaign.
The Browns will now have to navigate at least the next month without one of their defensive leaders. After earning his first Pro Bowl nod in 2023, Owusu-Koramoah has carried his elite production into 2024. The former second-round pick leads the Browns with 61 tackles, and he’s also added three sacks, one interception, and one forced fumble to his 2024 stat line.
“JOK is a leader of our defense,” safety Juan Thornhill told Cabot. “He’s a guy that’s going to make a lot of plays, that spark for our defense and losing a guy like that, it hurts. That’s our brother. You never want to see anybody go down like that. But everybody out there, they’re going to play hard for him each and every week until they get back out there and I’m praying for my boy.”
Owusu-Koramoah has been the one consistent for the Browns linebackers corps in 2024. Jordan Hicks has missed three games and most of a fourth, and Mohamoud Diabate had a stint on IR while recovering from a hip injury. Devin Bush has stepped up and ranks second at the position in snaps played, and the Browns may have to lean on the likes of Winston Reid and Nathaniel Watson depending on the status of Hicks.