The Browns were hoping to get starting middle linebacker Anthony Walker back in time for the playoffs, but the only way that can happen now is if they make the Super Bowl.
Walker underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Dec. 21 after being injured in practice the week before. At the time, head coach Kevin Stefanski said Walker was “week to week,” but the Browns on Jan. 5 announced Walker was being placed on injured reserve.
The NFL is not like Major League Baseball. In baseball, if a player goes on the injured list it could be retroactive to three days earlier, assuming the player didn’t participate in games during those three days.
An NFL player must miss a minimum of four games when he is placed on injured reserve. Walker has missed the last three games, but his IR countdown starts with the season finale in Cincinnati. He must sit out that game, the wild-card game, the divisional playoff and the AFC championship. He would be eligible for the Super Bowl if the Browns are still playing.
“We miss A-Walk,” linebackers coach Jason Tarver said Jan. 5. “We love him, but we know that certain things are going to happen in this game as you go through the year, and obviously this team is a great example of resilience at every position.
“But I think the players and the coaches have more experience with that and then also being able to apply it within the scheme so (the linebackers) are all more prepared to do everything. As a process, we just coach them in the room. Like, ‘If you’re at this position, this is what you are going to do.”
Sione Takitaki has done most of the work stepping in for Walker. Takitaki had 16 tackles Dec. 28 when the Browns beat the Jets, 37-20. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah continues to have his best season. Tony Fields has also responded.
“Jeremiah, Sione, and Tony, when they were on the field, all they were talking about is racing to the football,” Tarver said. “They did that (against the Jets) and that’s exciting. So we need to keep that up and do that even better.”
Walker, a captain of the defense, was on injured reserve the last 14 games of 2022 with a torn quadricep tendon.
