Defensive end Olivier Vernon was a force in his second season with the Browns, but he won't be available in the playoffs. (Cleveland.com)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from the day after the Browns kicked open the door to their first post-season appearance in 18 seasons …
For two weeks, the Browns have scrambled to identify the Next Man Up for the rash of players lost to Covid-19 protocols. Now they must call on their reserves to fill in for a key player lost on defense because of injury.
Defensive end Olivier Vernon suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in the fourth quarter of the playoff-clinching win over the Steelers and is done for the playoffs. Coach Kevin Stefanski said Vernon will have surgery. Rookie safety Grant Delpit had the same injury in August training camp.
In his second season with the Browns, a healthier Vernon was making the impact they hoped for when former GM John Dorsey traded for the defensive end in 2019.
His nine sacks were the second-most in his seven seasons in the NFL and a big reason the Browns were able to win two games when Myles Garrett was struck by Covid-19 and reach the playoffs for the first time in 18 years.
“He stepped up his game,” Stefanski said. “A bunch of guys have done that this season. OV is a great example of that. We were counting on him, we needed him and he stepped up. He is a leader for the football team in how he plays. OV does not say much, but when he talks, I think the guys listen. Just goes about his business. Certainly, hard to replace – I do not know if you replace any player – but we need guys to step up.”
Vernon’s sack of Mason Rudolph in the first quarter was the only one of the game for the Browns. It limited the Steelers to a field goal in game won by the Browns, 24-22.
Manufacturing pressure on Ben Roethlisberger from the defensive line is one of the Browns’ main objectives as they prepare for the Steelers’ varsity squad in Sunday night’s featured wild-card game.
Stefanski said Vernon’s role would be shared by Adrian Clayborn and Porter Gustin.
Vernon, 30, was in the final year of the contract the Browns inherited from the Giants in the trade. He agreed to reduce his salary prior to this season. Vernon will be a free agent in 2021.
“I am hurting for my dawg right now,” said defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. “That is big brother. Praying for him. It is tough. It is the nature of the game. He is in high spirits. He has been a major, major contributor to what we have done this season and helped us win a lot of big games.”
The Covid files
The status of six players on Covid-reserve and three coaches in quarantine for the Pittsburgh game is uncertain.
The players are linebacker B.J. Goodson, linebacker Malcolm Smith, safety Andrew Sendejo, tight end Harrison Bryant, cornerback Denzel Ward, and cornerback Kevin Johnson. The coaches are Chad O’Shea (receivers), Bill Callahan (offensive line) and Scott Peters (offensive line).
“With all of those guys on that Covid list, I can’t really get into specifics,” Stefanski said. “I will just tell you that we will work through all of that, we will follow the protocols and see where they lead. Every situation is so different. I will just wait until [Senior Vice President of Player Health and Development] Joe Sheehan tells me they are available.”
As for the coaches, Stefanski said, “All of these guys, you are hoping everybody is feeling good and getting better. We do a lot of work virtually already. That has kind of been the name of the game. Feel confident that we can continue to work remotely, if you will, with the coaches.”
Offensive assistant Ryan Cordell supervised the linemen during Sunday’s game. Chief of staff Callie Brownson took on O’Shea’s role with the receivers.
Brownie bits
Receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones’ status for the Pittsburgh game is in doubt. He suffered a concussion on a helmet hit to the middle of his back by safety Sean Davis, a play that should have drawn a personal foul but did not …
Garrett congratulated Rudolph for playing “a hell of a game” after the Browns’ win, a gesture that was interpreted as an olive branch extended to ease hard feelings over the helmet incident last year. Stefanski said he didn’t have a reaction to it, but Ogunjobi called it “big for everybody.” “It speaks to his maturity and his character as a person,” Ogunjobi said. “Never one time throughout the whole situation did I doubt the person Myles was. For him to kind of extend that arm out and kind of just squash it was big for everybody.” …
The Browns poached a big corner, Brian Davis, off the Bengals practice squad. Davis, 6-3 and 200 pounds, is in his third NFL season. He was a fifth-round draft pick of the Steelers in 2017 and has played 17 games with the Steelers and 49ers before landing this year on the Bengals’ practice squad.