8 Cleveland Browns rehabbing major injuries this season

8. Olivier Vernon could come back this season

Olivier Vernon? He’s not even under contract, and he is not on the roster, so call this the clickbait special if you want to. But he is still a free agent, and he has a better than even chance of contributing to a playoff team this season if he plays his cards right.

Vernon suffered a late-season tear to his Achilles tendon, suffered in the fourth quarter of the Browns’ 24-22 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers to close out the regular season. It was a Shakespearean tragedy of epic proportions, costing Vernon a shot at the free-agent market this offseason.

However, it is true that he was seriously injured, but he ain’t dead, so let’s not bury him just yet. The recovery time for a ruptured Achilles tendon for an NFL player could be less than a year, meaning we could see Vernon later this season, perhaps as early as November.

He needs to prove he is sound, preferably a strong role player in a winning defense to serve as an audition for a new contract next season. The main reasons why the Browns might not be a great match are that they have signed Jadevean Clowney and Takk McKinley, and they have Curtis Weaver in camp to help out Myles Garrett.

If everyone stays healthy, Vernon may not get much playing time in Cleveland this season. For that reason, it might be a tough sell trying to get him to return to Cleveland.

The other issue is that he had a monster contract in Cleveland that paid him $11 million after a pay cut in 2020. He had been at $15.5 million in 2019. He is not going to get anywhere near that amount after his injury and after turning 30 years old.

Still, ego might be easier to manage in a new setting, as he might perceive himself as being “less than” in a Browns uniform if he comes back with Cleveland and is forced to take another massive pay cut.