Cleveland Browns: 5 Players who will be key versus San Fransisco
By Leon West
2. The Big Nickel safety
Morgan Burnett was playing well for the Browns before injuring his quad. Burnett had just seven sacks throughout nine seasons in the NFL but was a key member of defensive coordinator Steve Wilks’ exotic blitz packages getting a sack in each of the first two contests. If Burnett can play, he’ll add much-needed depth for the depleted secondary.
The real key might be his replacement, Jermaine Whitehead. Whitehead had never started more than two games in a season during his four-year career but has started the previous three after playing 35 snaps in Week 1 and 100 percent of the snaps Week 2-4.
The playing time paid off in a significant way on Sunday versus the Ravens. Whitehead forced the fumble on Mark Ingram as the Ravens were approaching the red zone. Later he intercepted a deep ball from Lamar Jackson and hit Jackson’s arm forcing the ball to pop into the air resulting in an interception by Devaroe Lawrence.
The Browns forced three turnovers on Sunday and Whitehead had a hand in each of them. The flexibility that Whitehead and Burnett offer Wilks is part of what makes this Cleveland defense on the brink of being one of, if not the best in the NFL.