Jordan Kunaszyk among answers for Browns at linebacker due to injuries

On Dec 17, 2022

Buffalo Bills running back Nyheim Hines (20) is tackled by Cleveland Browns linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk (51) in the first half during an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)

CLEVELAND — It may be a surprise to other people. Jordan Kunaszyk, though, isn’t in that group of people.

It would seem like a shock to see a player who started the season on the practice squad suddenly find himself a critical piece of a defense. Kunaszyk, the Browns linebacker, isn’t surprised to see that happen.

Of course, a big caveat is that Kunazyk is just such a player. A gameday elevation for the season opener at Carolina, he’ll be an important part of the Browns’ linebacking rotation when they take on the Baltimore Ravens at 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon after a litany of injuries at that spot.

“Ultimately, you’re a professional and roles change over the course of the year,” Kunaszyk said this week. “Everybody knows that this is a very violent game that we play and, unfortunately, injuries are a part of it. … So everybody at every position, whether you’re starting a year on practice squad or whether you’re a second- or third-stringer, you’re preparing and you gotta be ready to go because quite frankly the job’s still gotta get done.

“It doesn’t really matter what depth you are starting the year, or if you’re a second-string, third-string, fourth-string. The opposing team doesn’t care and the coaching staff and organization doesn’t really care either. They expect somebody to step in and do the job.”

That’s been the case for the Browns’ entire linebacking corps this season. What started as an unfortunate occurrence in Week 3 when starting middle linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. suffered a season-ending torn quad tendon has since turned into a full-blown crisis.

The Browns lost Walker’s backup, Jacob Phillips, to a season-ending torn pectoral muscle in their first meeting against the Ravens in Week 7. They lost their third middle linebacker — although he was there because of the injuries — when Sione Takitaki suffered a torn ACL two weeks ago in Houston.

The latest blow came when Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah sustained a season-ending foot injury in last Sunday’s loss in Cincinnati. Just like that, all four of what the Browns considered to be their “starters” at the beginning of training camp were done for the season.

“Going into it, felt really good about the guys we had coming back and the young guys developing the depth we had,” defensive coordinator Joe Woods said. “To have those guys go down, it is tough, but it is the reality in the NFL. It is always the next-man-up mentality. I feel good about the guys who are playing for us. They feel confident. They are doing good things.”

Kunaszyk is one of those players. In fact, he’s one of only two Browns linebackers — Tony Fields II is the other — who was at least with the team during training camp.

The other three on the active roster — Deion Jones, Reggie Ragland and Jermaine Carter Jr. — were in-season acquisitions. Jones was picked up in an Oct. 9 trade with Atlanta, Ragland was signed on Dec. 7 after Takitaki’s injury and Carter was originally signed to the practice squad on Sept. 27 before signing with the active roster on Wednesday after Owusu-Koramoah’s injury.

The Browns did elevate Tae Davis from the practice squad to the gameday roster on Friday. Davis was signed to the practice squad on Nov. 29.

What all of that shuffling of parts around the linebacking room has done is create a necessity of versatility. The set rotation that existed with the original four linebackers all healthy no longer exists thanks to the chaos created by injuries.

“When you’re on the back half of the roster, when you’re a bubble player, when you’re a special teams player, you gotta be able to play all linebacker positions,” Kunaszyk said. “I mean, the more versatile you are, the more the team can count on you, the more valuable you are to the team. So, for me, obviously my role has been playing special teams, but I’ve studied defense and the opportunities that I’ve gotten I’ve tried to do the best with them, and I’ve tried to learn all the positions, especially at the (middle linebacker) spot.”