The Browns' linebacking room has taken multiple hits this offseason before the season begins, with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah out for the season and Jordan Hicks retiring near the start of camp. Additionally, Devin Bush could be facing discipline from the league for his legal issues a few months ago.
Cleveland added Carson Schwesinger and Jerome Baker into the fold, but their depth continues to be tested with the season looming. The Browns announced they have placed linebacker Nathaniel Watson on the injured reserve with a torn biceps, ending his season.
Nathaniel Watson out for the year with torn biceps
Watson was a sixth-round pick by the Browns out of Mississippi State in 2024. He appeared in 14 games in his rookie campaign, playing a vast majority of his snaps on special teams. In his 55 defensive snaps, Watson finished with a 66.2 grade, which put him at slightly above average on a tiny sample size.
The former draft pick was almost certainly a lock to make the roster with the thin linebacking core, especially when considering Bush's pending suspension. In the fallout, Winston Reid feels locked into a spot on the 53-man now, if he wasn't before. The Browns tend to carry six linebackers on the roster since Andrew Berry took over. Schwesinger, Mohamoud Diabate, Baker, and Reid are locks, but the rest of the room is unclear after that.
Watson's injury all but guarantees the Browns will be active looking for another linebacker. Whether they add a current free agent like Eric Kendricks or make a deal around when rosters are cut to 53, the Browns don't seem to have enough linebacker bodies for Week 1 unless they've seen enough from UDFA Easton Mascarenas-Arnold to put him right on the 53-man.
If Cleveland is gonig to have success in 2025, the defense will likely have to return close to their 2023 form. The linebacking depth could throw a wrinkle in those plans, but the top-end of the room seems in tact enough for now with Schwesinger, Diabate, Baker, and eventually Bush.