Karl Joseph signed without passing physical

The Cleveland Browns finalized their one-year contract with free agent safety Karl Joseph without undergoing a physical first.

The Cleveland Browns announced that they officially signed former Raiders safety Karl Joseph Monday.

The interesting part of the story was revealed later in the day by Karl Joseph himself.

With the current state of the country it is completely understandable why Joseph has not taken his physical, it is just not a good process by the Browns. This is not the right way to handle a player with the injury history that Joseph has. The team really could have waited to finalize the deal with Joseph until a time when he could have undergone a physical.

It is not about the talent of Joseph. If he stays healthy he can be a very productive player. The problem is the first four words of the previous sentence. Once the phrase “if he stays healthy” is attached to a player it is an uphill battle that rarely works out. Joseph is just a player who cannot stay healthy. It is not if he gets hurt, it is when. Joseph has never played a full 16 game season, the closest coming was 2017 when he missed one game due a groin injury.

It would be one thing if Karl Joseph was an elite player in high demand with one minor injury. Unfortunately this does not describe Joseph. Joseph is a good, not great player with an extensive injury history. With the Browns preparing for him to be their starter this season, skipping an important part of the process when it comes to an oft-injured player like Joseph seems quite foolish.