Cleveland Browns: 5 pleasant surprises heading into Preseason Week 2

Damion Ratley shrugging off an early injury

There was a collective sigh of relief when we heard that rookie wide receiver Damion Ratley wasn’t seriously injured. Early in training camp, Ratley was one of the players the Browns saw go down with a health scare.

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He was carted off but was later found to have a hip injury that wasn’t expected to be a lingering issue. It did keep him out of the team’s first preseason game against the New York Giants, but he should get some play when the Browns come home for a date with the Buffalo Bills this Friday.

A good sign for him to make his debut was him returning to practice. A better sign that he won’t just play, but could play a lot is that we’rehearing that he’s getting first-team reps.

This is a fantastic development for the speedster who the Browns took in the sixth-round out of Texas A&M.

Ratley was never a No. 1 receiver, but the Browns believed his size (6-foot-3, 190-pounds) and speed could help him find a niche in their offense. That chance for him became even greater when Cleveland traded former first-round pick Corey Coleman to the Bills.

Coleman was expected to be the deep threat in this offense, but now Ratley could fill that void. His early performance could mean he’s in line for such a role