Ronnie Hickman burnt for TD, comes up injured as Browns fall behind early

The Cleveland Browns preseason debut didn't get off to the best start.

Hosting the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, the Browns started on defense. While they didn't have their regular starters on the field, they still expected to put up a good performance. On the first drive, that's not what happened.

Green Bay moved 70 yards on just three plays with Dontayvion Wicks beating safety Ronnie Hickman for a 65-yard touchdown catch on third down.

Adding insult to injury — or injury to insult — Hickman came up limping on the play.

Browns safety corps was a strength in 2023

This was a frustrating start for Hickman, who was a solid addition as an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State. He made the 53-man roster and was asked to step up when Rodney McLeod was injured. Also coming in more was D'Anthony Bell as the Browns lost Grant Delpit late in the season — and Juan Thornhill missed time as well.

Hickman finished with 25 tackles and an interception in 10 games with four starts. This year, he finds himself buried on the depth chart with McLeod being re-signed in the offseason.

Cleveland's offense took over following that touchdown, giving us our first glimpse of Jameis Winston, who quickly dropped an 18-yard pass to Michael Woods II. Their drive stalled, however, and Cade York came in and drilled a 55-yard field goal.

We'll see if Jim Schwartz can get the defense back on track with their next drive.

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