CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Browns safety Grant Delpit plans to be 100% healthy and ready to go in time for training camp when it opens July 31.
Delpit is returning from a ruptured Achilles, suffered during a training camp practice on August 24, 2020 that cost him his rookie season.
Following surgery and months of grueling rehab, the 2020 second-round pick is poised to make an impact in year two.
“It feels good, man, better every day,” Delpit said Wednesday during a Zoom video conference. “It’s a long process, long journey to get fully back healthy. But the plan is to be fully healthy by training camp, so, I’m on track for that.”
Wednesday marked the first time the No. 44 overall pick spoke with reporters since suffering the injury.
“This injury is like nothing I’ve had before,” Delpit said. “I never thought about my Achilles and what it is used for until I hurt it. It is an eye-opening experience for me. I have done a lot to come back in rehab and just do all of that right now. I am doing sprints, cutting and all of that. Just on the backend of my rehab now and just trying to get rid of that annoying pain. It is coming along, and I should be ready by training camp.
“It is a crazy injury. It is crazy how it happened, but I am glad it happened, I guess, while I am young so I can still have my whole career ahead of me.”
At first, Delpit thought his heel might have been stepped on but it didn't take him long to realize the severity of the injury.
“I thought I ran into somebody behind me,” Delpit said. “I thought it was like a golf cart or something it hurt so bad. Jacob Phillips was walking by and I was like, ‘That was you?’ He was like, ‘No,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, OK, I kind of know what it is now.’ It is only one pain in that area. It sucked, but I picked up quickly on what it was.”
It was thought that Delpit would be a key piece to Joe Woods’ defensive plan last season and he admitted it was difficult watching the Browns win 11 games and make the playoffs without him but he’s prepared to contribute in 2021.
“I do not consider myself a rookie anymore. Definitely a Year 2 player,” Delpit said. “I got to sit back and really study a lot of film and see what happens behind the scenes, also. Watching the game from a fan’s perspective, which I have not been able to do my whole career, that was cool to do. I definitely do not consider myself a rookie.”
This offseason the defense got a makeover, especially in the secondary.
Delipt’s return coupled with the addition of John Johnson III is expected to give the Browns some explosive playmaking ability.
“Learning from guys like John and Ronnie [Harrison Jr.] and playing alongside of them, it is going to be great,” Delpit said. “We are all playmakers. We know what John can do and what Ronnie can do, and it is time for me to see what I can do. Hopefully, we all pitch in and do our part to win.
That is the plan.”
