5 Most overhyped Cleveland Browns in 2020
By Randy Gurzi
3. Olivier Vernon, EDGE
When John Dorsey made a trade for Olivier Vernon ahead of the 2019 season, there was a lot of excitement. There was also some cause for concern since the move meant they were giving up Kevin Zeitler, one of the better right guards in the NFL. However, if Vernon lived up to his potential, they added another Pro Bowl player to a defensive line that already had Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi, and later signed Sheldon Richardson.
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The problem was, the excitement of what Vernon could do overshadowed what he couldn’t do. Vernon is great at getting after the quarterback but playing a full season is not something he has accomplished since 2016.
Vernon missed four games in 2017 and five in 2018 for the New York Giants. He was still a great defensive end when healthy but that doesn’t mean as much if you can’t suit up. Vernon then continued the trend as he went from four games to five games missed in 2017 and 2018 to six games sidelined in his first year in Cleveland.
He would end up playing 10 games had had 26 tackles and 3.5 sacks — which was a career-worst in tackles and tied his lowest sack total, which was during his rookie season back in 2012.
Making matter worse, Vernon is now the highest-paid player on the books in 2020 as he’s set to count $15.5 million according to OverTheCap.com. Again, he can make good on that, but the injuries are a reason to pump the brakes — because players don’t usually get suddenly healthy later on in their careers.