Cleveland Browns: Terrance Mitchell injury will test depth in secondary

Terrance Mitchell has been one of the best players on the Cleveland Browns defense, but a fractured forearm will force the coaches to make a decision on his replacement.

Cleveland Browns cornerback Terrance Mitchell left Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders early due to a fractured forearm.

Head coach Hue Jackson said that the injury could force Mitchell to miss the rest of the season, leaving the Browns without one of their two starting cornerbacks, likely for the rest of 2018.

Mitchell has been one of the best players on the defense this season. His physical style of play has made it hard for opposing offenses, especially considering his knack for forcing fumbles. On the season, Mitchell has made 19 total tackles, two forced fumbles, one interception, three passes defended.

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After bouncing around teams at the start of his career, general manager John Dorsey decided to sign Mitchell to a three-year, $10 million contract this off-season. Seen as a depth player, Mitchell made play after play to earn the starting job. And he continued to play well during the season, creating a great duo with Denzel Ward.

With Mitchell expected to be out for the rest of the season, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and the rest of the Browns coaching staff now need to find a way to replace Mitchell’s production.

The Browns secondary seemed like a strength heading into the season. After drafting Ward and signing Mitchell, E.J. Gaines, and T.J. Carrie, the Browns built good depth at cornerback. Add in Briean Boddy-Calhoun, and the Browns cornerbacks seemed lethal.

However, the depth will now be tested as the season has played out. Boddy-Calhoun was in exile before Mitchell’s injury, as he was picked apart against the Steelers in the regular season opener. Since that game, Williams made Boddy-Calhoun disappear from the defensive lineup.

Without Boddy-Calhoun, the Browns turned to Carrie as the nickel corner. So far, the results have been mixed. There are times that he is in great coverage and knocking away passes. But he also has moments where he is getting beat on routes, allowing easy throws for opposing quarterbacks.

Gaines has not seen many snaps since the beginning of the season, but took over at right cornerback following Mitchell’s injury. The Raiders took note of that, as they were targeting Gaines when he was on the field. Gaines did record an interception off a deflected pass late in the first half.

Since Gaines took over for Mitchell, he will likely see the biggest uptick in snaps. According to Andrew Gribble of clevelandbrowns.com, Gaines played 42 snaps on against the Raiders, which was 46 percent of the defensive snaps.

But now that Mitchell is out and Boddy-Calhoun lost Williams’ trust, the Browns cornerback depth will be tested. The Browns no longer have the depth to bench a player if he is struggling, like what happened with Boddy-Calhoun. Boddy-Calhoun was on the field a decent amount for the Browns defense on Sunday, but it still appears that he has yet to earn back Williams’ trust.

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As long as the current Browns cornerbacks can stay healthy and play well, there will be no concern about the depth in the cornerback room. But without Mitchell, there is not much room for error for the cornerbacks.

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