Browns Bring Back Former LB Ahead of Showdown With Texans

The Cleveland Browns have brought a familiar face back into the fold ahead of their upcoming matchup with the Houston Texans.

The team announced on Tuesday, November 29, that it had added linebacker Tae Davis to its practice squad.

Davis entered in NFL as a member of the New York Giants in 2018 as an undrafted free agent, where he started four games and registered four quarterback hits along with two sacks.

The linebacker caught on with the Browns the following year, splitting his time between Cleveland, where he played nine games, and four outings with New York. Davis appeared in another 13 games for the Browns in 2020, contributing primarily on special teams. He did not appear in a regular season contest in 2021.

All told, Davis has played in 40 games and started five of those on defense. Over the course of his career, Davis has compiled 52 total tackles, including two tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, two sacks and two passes defensed, per Pro Football Reference.

Browns Linebacker Room Marred by Injury Throughout 2022 Season

GettyLinebacker Tae Davis, formerly of the Cleveland Browns, reacts after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-22 at FirstEnergy Stadium on January 3, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

The Browns can lay claim to a quality group of linebackers, but only when said group is at least relatively healthy, which has not often been the case this year.

Middle linebacker and team captain Anthony Walker Jr. has been on IR since Week 3 with a torn quad and will remain sidelined for the remainder of the season. Jacob Phillips, meant to serve as a primary replacement in Walker’s stead, went down for the year four games later with a pectoral injury.

Meanwhile, second-year player Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah missed consecutive contests in Weeks 8 and 9 with a knee injury, though has since returned and played in each of the Browns’ last two games. He continues to start alongside Deion Jones, for whom Cleveland traded with the Atlanta Falcons. Jones has played in five games for the Browns this year after missing the first six weeks of the season on IR with injury issues of his own.

Sione Takitaki is the third starter at the position, while Jordan Kunaszyk and Tony Fields II were the only linebacker reserves listed on Cleveland’s active roster as of Tuesday, per ESPN.

QB Deshaun Watson to Return For Browns Against Houston Texans

Getty ImagesQuarterback Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns is expected to make the first start of the season against the Houston Texans on Sunday, December 4, 2022.

Should Davis find his way onto the Browns official 53-man roster and the field on Sunday in Houston, it will almost certainly be in a special teams capacity. But even if he does, it will be far and away the second-place personnel story compared to another active roster addition this week — that of starting quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Watson has finished the 11-game suspension the NFL sent his way prior to the beginning of the season and is expected to start against his old team in his first outing back.

The QB has thrown just five passes since putting on a Browns uniform, all in the first game of the preseason against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He completed one of those passes for a total of seven yards.

Still, Watson is a dynamic playmaker and three-time Pro Bowler who the Browns signed for five years and $230 million back in March. He replaces Jacoby Brissett as Cleveland (4-7) attempts to put together a string of wins to play its way back into playoff contention.