Cleveland Browns fans can now breathe a sigh of relief as head coach Kevin Stefanski has given a major update on DE Za'Darius Smith's training camp injury. After medical reevaluation, the defensive end had suffered a knee contusion, with further testing to determine the extent of the injury. Smith had sustained a knee injury on Monday from a red zone drill, after which the team carted him off the field. As the medical staff tended to him, he kept grabbing his left knee and grimaced in serious pain.
This good news came in a response from the coach to reporters' inquiries during Browns training camp. Asked what happened to his defensive end, Kevin Stefanski said that “Za'Darius Smith banged knees with Jerome Ford yesterday, but ‘he'll be okay,'” as reported by Sara Walsh on X, formerly Twitter. Given enough rest, Smith should be good to go to finish the rest of training camp and prepare for the upcoming season.
Za'Darius Smith's injury scare and the Browns preseason
For a second, it looked like the Browns had lost another member of their defensive line just as Myles Garrett returned after a hamstring injury. Luckily, tests showed no further damage beyond a contusion. Still, to maintain roster depth, the Browns added DE Marcus Haynes as a backup. Haynes had spent some time with the Houston Texans during the offseason. Likewise, the undrafted defensive end out of Old Dominion had spent some time on the Denver Broncos practice squad.
Last season was Za'Darius Smith's first season with the Browns, where he became one of the key pieces of the team's defensive units. The Browns defense also became one of the league's best, headed by NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett. Meanwhile, Smith was only second behind Garrett in sacks, having averaged 5.5 sacks per game. His effort eventually pushed the team to build on their elite 2023 showing, and they signed Smith to a two-year deal to return to the team in the offseason.
During recovery, Smith will certainly sit out their preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday However, he should be ready to go against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 of the upcoming NFL season.
Besides Smith, the Browns are still deciding which starters to send out for Green Bay, who should play QB1 Jordan Love along with most of their starters. Still, they might elect to sit out Deshaun Watson until their preseason finale against the Seattle Seahawks.
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