Injuries Pile Up in Browns First Preseason Game: Everything You Need to Know.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Browns opened their first game in Cleveland Browns stadium of 2024 on Saturday as they took on the Green Bay Packers in their opening preseason game. However, the biggest story coming out of this game was not the play on the field, but the pile-up of injuries for the Browns.

It started on the first drive of the game when 2ndyear standout Safety Ronnie Hickman, on the third play of the game, got burned by Dontayvion Wicks for a 65-yard Touchdown from Jordan Love. Midway through the route Hickman came up lame and was later diagnosed with a back injury and did not return to the field.

Hickman was a key piece to the Browns #1 ranked defense last year after injuries to Juan Thornhill and Grant Delpit saw him get more playing time than the rookie could have expected. With an aging Rodney Mcleod and Delpit and Thornhill coming off injuries, Hickman has become an important piece to the Browns defensive puzzle.

The next to go down was Wide Receiver David Bell, who like Hickman, went down in the first quarter. It was unclear when and where Bell sustained his injury, but the Browns reported that Bell had suffered a quad injury sometime in the first quarter. Bell did not return to the game.

While Bell had a slight drop off from his rookie year in 2022 to last year from a numbers standpoint, he was a reliable target for the carousel of QBs when the chips were down. Bell ended up catching 3 touchdown passes in the 2023 season compared to his 0 in his rookie year.

As Bell is now introduced to a loaded receiver room with newly added weapons like Jerry Jeudy, it is more important than ever for him to stay on the field.

The most concerning in terms of severity was Center Luke Wypler who went down in the 2nd quarter. Wypler was down on the field for a while before the Browns medical staff had to cart him off. Wypler suffered an injury to his right leg and had to be put in an air cast before being loaded up onto the cart.

Kevin Stefanski told the media after the game that Wypler suffered a fractured ankle that will require surgery. When asked if Wypler would be season-ending Stefanski was passive “I’m not gonna go there, I'll just say he needs surgery.”

The Browns were already thin at the Center position. After losing former Center Nick Harris this offseason, Wypler is the only true backup to starter Ethan Pocic. NFL journeyman Guard Zack Johnson finished the game, but that is not a long-term solution to their Center issues. We should expect the Browns to sign another Center in the coming days.

“Those are things we will work through in the next 24 to 48 hours,” Stefanski said when asked about if they would add another center.

Certainly, something to monitor as the days go on; but the injuries did not stop there.

The other two injuries to cap of the night for the Browns were undrafted journeyman Safety Vincent Gray and Linebacker Nathaniel Watson who the Browns selected in this year's draft in the 6th round with pick number 206.

Other than Wypler, Stefanski did not disclose the severity or process for any of these injuries. It will be interesting to see how severe they are as the days go on.