CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – In sports there are no guarantees.
Following a season that saw the Browns overcome so much adversity, no one saw what happened Saturday afternoon in Houston coming. Sunday, the players were left wondering what happened as they cleaned out their lockers and headed into the offseason.
“I’m really proud of this football team,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Again, disappointed in how it ended of course. Disappointed when it ends, but I don’t want to lose sight of the accomplishments of this football team and I give them a ton of credit for that.”
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from locker cleanout day in Berea.
Bitter pill – A day after the Texans blew the Browns out 45-14 in the AFC Wild Card, players tried to make sense of how their magical season came crashing down. “I'm still trying to figure out how to move on from it.,” cornerback Denzel Ward said. The Browns won 11 games despite seeing 15 players suffer season-ending injuries throughout the season and five quarterbacks start games with four of them winning at least one game. “We definitely had a great season, so definitely don't want to look past that and all that we were able to accomplish,” Ward said. “We weren't able to execute on our goals in the postseason and make it as far as we would've liked. But like I said, definitely a lot to be thankful for and guys play. Did a heck of a job during a regular season.” The wound from the loss to Houston was still raw as boxes got filled and bags packed with locker contents. “It's going to be hard for us to really appreciate the good things that have happened this season in this moment,” safety Juan Thornhill said. “There's a lot of good football that happened despite of all the guys getting injured. We had five quarterbacks this year to really look at it, and that's unheard of. Five quarterbacks, guys getting injured every single week with a season-ending injury. That's huge. Some teams, you lose one player, your season's over. I mean, we lost multiple and guys just seem like they never quit.” Getting blown out left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth. “Right now it’s hard to really focus on the good things right now just because we had goals of getting further,” cornerback Greg Newsome II said. “So I mean, right now obviously we accomplished a lot as a team, but we fell short of our goal. So I think we did a good job with guys going down and people stepping up and things like that. But at the end of the day, we're not going to be that one team with the trophy at the end.” Left guard Joel Bitonio just completed his 10th season, but just his second playoff year with eyes on a third next year. “In 2020 when we made the playoffs, it was the first time I had made the playoffs, so I wasn't quite sure, but I was confident that we could get back and then obviously it kind of fell apart a little bit there,” Bitonio said. “But I think we have the right guys in here, the right culture right now. The camaraderie with the room is good, so I am confident in this group and their ability to get back to the level we want to next year.” Even with injuries, the Browns thought they had a shot to make some noise in January because of their defense. That went up in smoke in a hurry with Houston rolling up 356 yards and Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud hit just once. “There’s no reason to hang our heads,” Thornhill said. The Browns finished with the top-ranked defense in the regular season for the first time since 1955. “I don’t want to lose sight of how good we were on defense this season,” Stefanski said. “Historic, and I think Coach Schwartz and the defensive staff did an outstanding job implementing the system in year one.”
No JOK(E) – When the Browns drafted Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the front office thought they stole a first round pick. With his emergence this season, it looks like they did. “I said, if he's not the best linebacker in the NFL next year, that's his fault, because he has everything that it takes,” linebacker Anthony Walker said. Owusu-Koramoah led the Browns in tackles during the regular season and in Saturday’s playoff loss he was the lone defensive bright spot with nine tackles with four of them going for a loss. “It is painful a bit when you put in so much work and so much is at stake,” Owusu-Koramoah said. “So many people involved. The organization, the city, the teams, us as individuals and the way that we've worked. So it definitely is painful. But again, you have to take an evaluation, take an audit of what the season has made and what that game has made and learn from those mistakes.”
Bitonio’s back – Bitonio stood with a walking boot on his right foot looking to the future. He plans to be back for an 11th season. “I want to play and I want to show I could still play at a very elite level,” Bitonio said. “I still feel like I played well this year, but I think there's always more and they always want to push yourself to be at the top of your game and I still feel good. I'm going to use this off season to get my body [healthy], but yeah, I plan to be back.” Bitonio was named to his sixth consecutive Pro Bowl but was left off the AP All-Pro teams this season. He underwent a knee scope during the bye week, played through an oblique injury and even returned Saturday after suffering a high ankle sprain. “He’s unbelievable,” Stefanski said. “He did not have to go back in that game with a high ankle sprain and most people couldn’t and most people wouldn’t and he was not going to let his guys down. He battled to the end, he’ll rest up and heal up, but he’s the quintessential teammate. That’s what we’re talking about when you talk about the Cleveland Browns, guys that will do anything and everything they can for their teammate.”
Playing hurt – Thornhill suffered a calf injury Week 4 against Baltimore and never recovered. “I came back too fast,” Thornhill said. “It was a grade two strain, so to really look at a grade two strain takes a month, a month and a half to actually fully heal, but I didn't have that time to let it heal, so I kept trying to come back and get back on the field, but every time I got out there, I was just re-aggravating it, straining it over and over again. And I mean, it just seemed like I was just hurt all the time, but it was just one injury that was just lingering the whole season.” Thornhill has his moments in the first year of a three-year, $21 million deal but didn’t feel he lived up to his own standards. Needless to say he can’t wait for the 2024 season. “Guys, they fought their ass off this year and I'm excited to get back next year. Just going to take some time away from football and letting my body heal and I promise I'll tell you right now that Cleveland will get the best version of Juan Thornhill next year.”
Cleveland till he dies – For the second straight offseason Kareem Hunt isn’t sure what his NFL future holds. “I have no idea,” Hunt, who averaged 3.0 yards per carry in the regular season, said. “I'm pretty much just going to take it day by day. If the opportunity presents myself and it's right here, then I wouldn't be opposed to coming back. It's my hometown and I want do nothing but help them win the Super Bowl.” Hunt was signed in late September to help fill the void after Nick Chubb was lost for the season in Week 2 and he went on to tie Jerome Ford for the team lead in touchdowns with nine, a career high for him. Hunt scored the only two touchdowns Saturday giving him five in the playoffs, second-most in Browns history. “It makes me feel great,” Hunt said. “It's something that'll always be remembered. You can't take that from me. It is set in stone, but I wanted a bigger picture. I can throw them touchdowns away for a dub. I don't even care if I score two touchdowns if we win.”
Walk off – Walker, voted a team captain and named the Browns Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, is also slated to become a free agent again. “Whether that's here or anywhere else, those decisions aren't up to me,” Walker said. “That's my agent, that's front office, in this building or anywhere else. So whatever that opportunity is and wherever I do have the opportunity to play football next year, I'm going to take that opportunity and run with it and be the best player that I can be, whether that's here or anywhere else.” Walker ended his second straight season on injured reserve after having to undergo knee surgery in late December. “It was frustrating,” Walker said. “Obviously you always want to be out there when you have the opportunity. Just the way that works out sometimes. Yeah. Can't sit here and just sit here and let it affect you going into the offseason. Just hope to be healthy really, really soon here fast and be ready to get some real training in and get my body back to what I know it could be.”
