Browns place veteran LB on IR

Knee scopes have offered players the chance to return after short- or medium-term hiatuses for a while, but the team evidently deemed Walker’s return timetable as lengthy enough a playoff comeback was not guaranteed. Walker started all 12 games he played for the Browns this season, his third with the team.

Walker joins Grant Delpit, Rodney McLeod and Maurice Hurst Jr. as Browns defensive regulars on IR. Offensively, Cleveland has dealt with far more obstacles. Nick Chubb, Deshaun Watson, Jack Conklin, Jedrick Wills and Dawand Jones are on the Browns’ injured list. Delpit has a chance to return in the playoffs, but the rest of this lot will not come to suit up again before September.

This is familiar territory for Walker, who ended last season on IR as well. The former Colts draftee suffered a torn quad tendon in September 2022. As part of a decent linebacker-retention effort, the Browns re-signed Walker on a one-year, $1.23M deal. Cleveland also brought back Sione Takitaki, who has seen more playing time alongside Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah since Walker’s latest injury. Walker posted 113 tackles for the Browns in 2021; he heads to IR with 44 stops, four passes defensed and two fumble recoveries this season. Pro Football Focus rates Walker 31st among linebacker regulars.

On a more positive note, Kevin Stefanski said Ogbo Okoronkwo could return to action despite suffering what was initially believed to be a season-ending pectoral injury. The rotational edge rusher has missed the past three games, but after additional testing, the Browns did not place the free agency pickup on IR. Okoronkwo has tallied 4.5 sacks and a career-high 12 tackles for loss during his first season in Cleveland.