Cleveland Browns: 5 Players who won’t be back in 2022

CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 17: Jadeveon Clowney #90 and Anthony Walker #4 of the Cleveland Browns celebrate a sack by Clowney during the second quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 17, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 17: Jadeveon Clowney #90 and Anthony Walker #4 of the Cleveland Browns celebrate a sack by Clowney during the second quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 17, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OHIO – OCTOBER 17: Anthony Walker #4 of the Cleveland Browns reacts after a 51-yard field goal made by Matt Prater #5 of the Arizona Cardinals during the second quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 17, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) /

Cleveland Browns player who won’t return No. 2: Anthony Walker

One position that has needed improvements over the past couple of seasons in Berea is linebacker. In 2020 and 2021, they decided to go with a veteran on a one-year deal and the results have been fine. Not great, but fine.

First, it was B.J. Goodson who had previous stints with the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers. He played in 14 games for the Browns and had 91 tackles and two interceptions but didn’t do enough to convince the front office to bring him back in 2021.

Instead, they went with Anthony Walker who was a tackling machine for the Colts over the past three seasons. Walker was brought in to be the starting middle linebacker and has played well despite missing three games due to an injury.

Despite not being overly impactful, Walker has been solid and is actually better in pass coverage than expected. However, the Browns are likely to aim for more youth and athleticism at the position going forward. They already have Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see them also add another young middle linebacker early on, which would lead to Walker finding a new home in 2022.