Browns Add Injury To Insult

A day after the Browns’ underwhelming outing against the Bengals, in a game that they lost by a score of 16-7 (which actually wasn’t even that close, if you watched the game), things got even worse for the Browns as they lost their best defensive playmaker for the rest of the season.

Four players sustained significant injuries during the game, but none will have a greater impact on the defense than the loss of DT Shaun Rogers, who is now done for the season with a leg and ankle injury that will require surgery. As bad as the Browns run defense has been this season, keep in mind that Rogers often commanded double, and even triple teams from opposing offensive lines. Without Rogers absorbing linemen, the rest of the defense will be faced with more blockers than they are typically accustomed to.

Speaking of the rest of the team, there were other defensive starters who sustained injuries. Safety Brodney Pool sustained what is thought to be at least the fourth concussion of his career, which could potentially jeopardize his career. Two other defensive starters went down as well, as DE Kenyon Coleman and LB Kamerion Wimbley both sustained knee injuries. At this time, the severity of those injuries and how much time will be missed because of them, is unknown.

All of this is further bad news for a Browns team that has still only been able to win one game this season and has the AFC West leading San Diego Chargers coming into town this Sunday. According to Mangini and the players, they will fight through these injuries and work hard to get their second win of the season. The team may have not given up, but it appears that the fans have. For the first time in years, the Browns are facing a potential TV blackout this Sunday as the game is nowhere near being sold out.

So there’s a good chance that, this Sunday, only about 50,000 or so Clevelanders will have the opportunity (or misfortune, depending on your perspective) to watch the Browns live against the Chargers. That’s more like what you can expect for a preseason game, but then again, with the number of starters hurt, and thus the number of young players about to be thrust into the lineup, the group on the field may resemble more of what you would expect to see in a preseason game as well.

Tags: Brodney Pool, Kamerion Wimbley, Kenyon Coleman, Shaun Rogers