'It just falls on everybody': Browns going all-in to deal with linebacker injuries

BEREA − Sione Takitaki knows what the loss of his teammate Anthony Walker Jr. means for the Browns, especially at linebacker. He also knows what it means for the other linebackers on the team.

"I feel like it just falls on everybody in the room," Takitaki told the Beacon Journal Monday. "I mean, guys go down. Obviously, it sucks. Obviously, Anthony was a beast and a leader. That means that a lot more guys in the room are gonna play a little bit more snaps and that's what happens during the season."

The Browns lost Walker to a torn quad tendon early in the third quarter of last Thursday's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. They placed him on the season-ending injured reserve list the next day.

Lost in the loss of Walker, the Browns' defensive co-captain, was an injury which occurred just moments earlier. That's when fellow linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah left with a groin injury.

Owusu-Koramoah's injury is not season-ending, but there's still no exact word on his status for Sunday's game in Atlanta. That could put a strain on a linebacker group that is a touch thin, especially in terms of NFL snaps.

"In our room we all preach that we need everybody," middle linebacker Jacob Phillips said. "I feel like we’ve got really good coaches, we’ve got really good players, I feel like everybody in there can step up to the plate when called upon. Like in the game, Tony [Fields II] came in and made a play, Taki moved to nickel Will and did good. So I feel like we’re very well-coached in our room, everybody gets the same coaching the whole time and we all get reps in practice. So absolutely we’re going to miss him for sure, but I feel like I’m confident in my guys."

Phillips is the obvious replacement for Walker at the Mike linebacker spot. A third-year pro out of LSU, Phillips played a season-high 46 defensive snaps against the Steelers, and led the team with seven tackles, plus a key third-down sack and another pass break-up in the fourth quarter.

Takitaki, who started at the Sam linebacker spot, played 31 defensive snaps against the Steelers. The only other linebackers who played a defensive snap were Fields and Jordan Kunaszyk, who each played one snap.

It was literally the first NFL defensive snap for Fields, who has been used almost exclusively on special teams since being drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 draft. It didn't seem to overwhelm him, though, as he stopped Najee Harris for a 1-yard gain on that play.

"I mean, obviously guys go down," Fields told the Beacon Journal Monday. "You got to stay ready for your opportunity. I mean, I'm lined up, ready to go. I'm in my playbook. I know more than usual. I mean, I've already always been in my playbook and everything like that. So when my time is called, or my name is called, I'm ready to go."

The issue for the Browns, though, is really a numbers one at linebacker. With Walker out and Owusu-Koramoah at least questionable to play against the Falcons, it's a matter of finding bodies to provide some depth behind Phillips, Takitaki and Fields, who would be the No. 1 candidate to step in for Owusu-Koramoah's spot at the Will in a three-linebacker look.

The Browns only had six linebackers on the roster before Walker went down with the season-ending injury, the sixth joining when Kunaszyk was signed to the active roster last week after being on the practice squad. They only have one linebacker, fourth-year pro Dakota Allen, on the practice squad.

There is likely to be a move or two made to bolster that room. Allen will be, in all likelihood, elevated to the gameday roster, but there's a possibility others free agents are brought in for at least a workout.

“We are talking through all of those things," coach Kevin Stefanski said. "I think that is the nature of the NFL. As we all know, you get into certain weeks, and all of a sudden, you felt good about your depth and the next thing you know you are out two guys or whatever it may be. We will continue to look at those type of things, but the guys who are here are getting a ton of reps. I feel very comfortable with the group that we have.”

The group the Browns have currently doesn't know the future of their room's composition. They only know what they know in the moment, and that's the guys they see around them.

It's those linebackers who, until told otherwise, the Browns are counting on to get them through the tough times they're currently facing.

"I feel like it's going to be determined by game plan," Takitaki said. I feel like anybody can be up during this week. We'll see later on this week who's actually going to be playing a little bit more."

Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ

Browns at Falcons

Time: 1 p.m. Sunday

TV: CBS

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Browns linebackers go all-in to deal with injury concerns