The story of the Cleveland Browns’ 2023 season is told through the lens of injuries.
While we hoped the players would return for the NFL playoffs, the Browns continued to suffer from injuries heading into the meaningless Week 18 game.
The team ruled out seven players Friday, most due to injury or recovery, including safety Juan Thornhill and kicker Dustin Hopkins, who also could miss the start of the playoffs.
LB Anthony Walker was one of the players hoping to return.
Walker missed the last three games following surgery, but was placed on injured reserve Friday. Cleveland brought back DE Sam Kamara to take Walker’s place.
As team captain, Walker appeared in 12 games this season with 44 tackles, four passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, two quarterback hits and one tackle for a loss.
In his place, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah assumed the role of senior linebacker. In Week 17, JOK won 97% of defensive snaps, with Sione Takitaki (92%) and Tony Fields (14%) being the only other linebackers on the field on defense.
Kamara has played in two games with the Browns over the past two seasons without collecting a stat sheet.
Cleveland Browns linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. will miss the remainder of the season with a torn quadriceps tendon, an injury he suffered during the Browns’ 29-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers , Thursday evening.
The injury requires surgery and according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Walker will need five to seven months to recover.
