The Cleveland Browns will be without one of their starting linebackers. Christian Kirksey had surgery and is now out for the season.
This is hardly the news the Cleveland Browns wanted but it does not come as a surprise. Christian Kirksey is out for the remainder of the season. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Kirksey underwent surgery for the chest injury.
As Rapoport mentions, Christian Kirksey was placed on Injured Reserve a week ago. This certainly makes this news of his season coming to an end not entirely surprising. Once the extent of the injury was known this sort of felt inevitable.
This is the second straight season that Christian Kirksey finishes on Injured Reserve. Kirksey appeared in two games this season and seven last season. This is not a good trend for a someone who signed a four-year $38 million contract extension in 2017. At some point (possibly now) his future in Cleveland will be in question. Like it or not this is a conversation that needs to take place.
For the time being the Browns will rely on rookie Mack Wilson. The Browns selected Wilson in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. So far, Wilson has outperformed his draft position. In four games Wilson has 16 total tackles (eight solo) with one pass defense. The Browns will need Wilson to build upon his early success as the season progresses. Luckily Joe Schobert will be there right next to him to help him along the way to help eliminate any rookie mistakes. Hopefully Wilson will continue to grow and help out the defense when they need him most.
