The Cleveland Browns are certainly not having any of the luck thus far this season, whether it comes on the scoreboard or elsewhere. The struggling franchise lost its ostensible franchise quarterback, possibly for the season, in the opener last week when Robert Griffin III sustained a shoulder injury, and they may have lost yet another quarterback yesterday, at least for a while.
As we brought to you last night, there are reports that the Browns are preparing to receive bad news on the injury front after last year’s primary starter, Josh McCown, left the game briefly yesterday against the Ravens—in which they held a substantial 20-0 lead before giving it up and losing 25-20—with yet another shoulder injury.
While McCown finished the game after suffering an injury to his non-throwing shoulder in the first quarter, Mike Silver Tweeted that the organizing is “bracing themselves”, as the quarterback is going to undergo an MRI today that will reveal how significant the injury is, and he could miss some several weeks, as their worries indicate.
If that were not bad enough, the Browns’ starting center, second-year former first-round draft pick Cameron Erving, wound up in the hospital after the game after leaving during the team’s final drive. Erving was experiencing cramps and discomfort in his ribs and his chest.
While in the hospital, tests indicated that the first-time starter suffered a bruised lung as a result of the chest impact that he experienced during the game, and they are choosing to hospitalize him overnight for observation.
In spite of a few brief flashes of hope over the course of the first two games, the Browns’ 2016 season—the first under new head coach Hue Jackson—is quickly becoming unraveled, with the injuries not being the least concern, to be sure.
Right now, the only healthy quarterback on the roster is rookie third-round draft pick Cody Kessler, whom the Browns do not believe is ready, in spite of the fact that they were very high on him during the draft, and that his greatest attribute in college was his accuracy.
Clevleand has rookie fifth-round draft pick Kevin Hogan on the practice squad, whom they claimed off waivers. He would inevitably have to be called up from the practice squad if McCown is going to miss time, which as of this writing seems likely, unless the Browns manage to make a trade for another quarterback.
In either case, a roster move will have to be made, whether it is to find a game-day backup for Kessler, or for somebody to start over the rookie. One resource that the Browns do have is a wealth of draft picks. They even got a sixth-rounder from the Steelers.
Cleveland ranks 29th in scoring as of this writing, having scored just 30 points in two games, and they also stand 25th in defensive scoring, allowing 27 points per game on average. They likely will place a great emphasis on the ground game in the coming weeks in the hopes of turning things around.
