Browns Bring Back Pass-Rusher After Brief Departure
The Browns announced the signing of Kamara with a series of other moves. The team also released punter Matt Haack and guard Joey Fisher from the practice squad.
Kamara, a Stony Brook graduate, is in his second season in the NFL. He was first signed by the Chicago Bears in 2021 as an undrafted free agent, and he has made 10 appearances in the league. He has played in just one game this season and has spent the most of 2022 and 2023 on the Browns practice squad.
Kamara may be called up to the active roster for this week’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns may rest important starters like Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith in the Week 18 game because they had nothing to lose.
“We’re working through all those things,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said on Monday, January 1. “We’ll have a plan, obviously. We want to finish strong, so we’ll have a plan moving forward, but I’ll update you guys as we get going through the week.”
Browns Dealing With Injuries on Defensive Line
The Browns defensive line has been banged up in recent weeks. The team lost veteran tackle Maurice Hurst for the season and Ogbo Okoronkwo is dealing with a pec injury. Okoronkwo is holding out hope that he’ll be able to go for the postseason. He’s missed the last two games.
The Browns are also missing starting middle linebacker Anthony Walker and safety Grant Delpit, who is on injured reserve but hoping to return for the postseason.
“I don’t know,” Stefanski said when asked for an update on his injured players. “Obviously, we’ll see how all those guys progress over the course of the next couple of weeks. You want to get all those guys back, obviously, but we’ll just have to see how they do over the next seven to 14 days.”
Garrett has also had injuries, although he hasn’t missed any games. The front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year has been struggling with a shoulder issue. In last week’s game against the New York Jets, he managed to snap his sackless skid. Garrett would be one of the guys the Browns would choose to hold out if they were to rest players against the Bengals.
That being said, the sack-hungry All-Pro might want an opportunity to score a few more in the final week of the season. Garrett has 14 sacks this season.
Browns Punter Corey Bojorquez Likely to Return
The Browns played last week without their starting kicker and punter. Kicker Dustin Hopkins is dealing with a left hamstring injury, while Corey Bojorquez has a quad issue.
The move to waive Haack — who punted on Thursday against the Jets — likely means that Bojorquez is on his way back. Haack hit three punts against New York for a respectable average of 51.7 yards.
It’ll be nice for the Browns to get Bojorquez back but Hopkins is a big missing piece for the Browns. The team gave up just a seventh-round pick for Hopkins in a trade with the Los Angeles Chargers. He’s been the most reliable kicker the team has had in over a decade.
Hopkins has hit 33 of his 36 field goal attempts and is 8-for-8 from beyond 50 yards.
