In another tough blow for Cleveland Browns’ wide receiver Jakeem Grant, head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed that for the second consecutive season, Grant will be sidelined due to an injury.
Grant signed with the Browns in 2022, but has yet to take the field for them in a regular season game after succumbing to injuries during the preseason.
It was an Achilles tear that cost him the 2022 season and now it’s a ruptured patellar tendon, which occurred during Saturday’s preseason game against Kansas City, keeping him off the field only a few weeks shy of the start of the regular season.
The injury will require Grant to undergo surgery.
“Very, very disappointed for Jakeem,” Stefanski told reporters on Sunday, according to Cleveland.com. “To see a guy that works so hard to come back from the previous injuries. I marvel at his strength, and I know his teammates do as well, so that’s a tough one.”
He had been in line to be the team’s starting kick and punt returner.
However, with the injury, Stefanski indicated that those duties could be split between Donovan Peoples-Jones and Jerome Ford.
The responsibilities of returning punts could fall on Jones while Ford would then be tapped to return kicks.
“Obviously, we had high hopes for Jakeem as our returner,” Stefanski said. “We have internal candidates. You know, we’ll always be looking for external candidates as well. So, things that we’re working through right now.”
Grant had been drafted in 2016 and had been a solid contributor on special teams during his time with the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins.
He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2021 after he was traded to Chicago in the middle of the season.
Stefanski told reporters on Sunday that he had spoken with Grant since the news and complimented the mental fortitude he had shown rehabbing from the injury last year.
“I’ll reiterate because I see it and his teammates see it. The kid is unbelievably strong,” the Browns coach said. “I mean, incredibly mentally strong. So, we know he’ll bounce back. He’s going to have our full support to do so.”
There was some good news for Cleveland.
Marquise Goodwin was cleared to come off the non-football injury list after missing training camp due to blood clots in his lungs and legs.
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