The Cleveland Browns placed linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah on injured reserve today with a foot injury, ending his season. Owusu-Koramoah, a second-round pick out of Notre Dame in 2021, is the fourth linebacker the Browns have lost to a season-long injury, joining Anthony Walker Jr., Jacob Phillips, and Sione Takitaki. The news was reported by NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
When the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Browns in Week 18, they’ll be facing a depleted defense that just lost one of its most consistent contributors in Owusu-Koramoah. This season, he has 70 tackles, four pass deflections, and two forced fumbles in 11 games, numbers that are crazy similar to his rookie year totals, when he totaled 76 tackles, four pass deflections, and two forced fumbles in 14 games. In the Steelers’ first matchup against Cleveland, Owosu-Koramoah had just one tackle and only played in 37% of Cleveland’s defensive snaps before leaving the game with an injury.
His most recent injury occurred on Sunday, in the Browns’ 23-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns have three current healthy linebackers on the active roster in Reggie Ragland, Tony Fields II, and Jordan Kunaszyk. The Browns also have three linebackers on the practice squad, and at least one is likely to be elevated before their matchup with the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
Cleveland and Pittsburgh are both battling it out for third place in the AFC North, and Owusu-Koramoah’s absence could certainly give Pittsburgh a leg up in that battle when the two face off in Week 18.
