Getty Wide receiver Amari Cooper of the Cleveland Browns.
The Cleveland Browns had poor injury luck in 2022, and the new season isn’t striking a significantly different note.
Just one day after telling reporters he was fully recovered from an offseason surgery to repair a damaged core muscle, wide receiver Amari Cooper suffered a “minor tweak” that sidelined him for Cleveland’s second training camp practice on Sunday, July 23. General manager Andrew Berry was relatively mum about the nature of the issue on Sunday, choosing not to disclose publicly how it occurred or what part of Cooper’s body was affected. Berry said only that the injury was not related to Cooper’s surgically-repaired muscle and that the team wasn’t “overly concerned” about its long-term impact.
It was head coach Kevin Stefanski’s turn to speak Monday, and reporters dove quickly into Cooper’s status looking for an update. Stefanski held to the company line, though he did provide one new piece of meaningful information.
#Browns Kevin Stefanski says Amari Cooper (tweak) might do something at practice today and that it’s not a long-term concern. OT Dawand Jones still has some symptoms of his illness
“#Browns Kevin Stefanski says Amari Cooper (tweak) might do something at practice today and that [his injury is] not a long-term concern,” Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported via Twitter. “[Offensive tackle] Dawand Jones still has some symptoms of his illness.”
Browns Have Already Suffered 3 Hits to Revamped WR Group Early in Training Camp
GettyWide receiver Amari Cooper of the Cleveland Browns suffered an undisclosed injury during practice on Sunday, July 23, 2022.
As Cleveland’s Monday practice session opened to the media, Scott Petrak of Browns Zone offered an even newer update on Cooper’s situation.
#Browns WR Amari Cooper working on side after leaving practice yesterday.
“#Browns WR Amari Cooper working on side after leaving practice yesterday,” Petrak tweeted.
That Cooper is on the field at all is an exceedingly positive sign for a franchise that doesn’t know when free agent addition Marquise Goodwin will return after doctors discovered blood clots in his legs and lungs earlier this spring.
Beyond that, roster bubble wideout Anthony Schwartz began training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Adding Cooper’s new injury, that makes three members of the Browns’ revamped wide receiver group who are already dealing with health issues just three days into camp.
Browns’ Player Health Has Implications for Job Security of Andrew Berry, Kevin Stefanski
GettyQuarterback Deshaun Watson (middle) of the Cleveland Browns speaks during a press conference in March 2022 alongside general manager Andrew Berry (L) and head coach Kevin Stefanski (right).
While injuries are both expected and beyond managerial control, Browns brass need things to go the team’s way this season when it comes to injury luck. If they don’t, it could mean the end of Stefanski, Berry or both in Cleveland.
Team owner Jimmy Haslam spoke positively in March about his head coach and GM, though he stopped short of guaranteeing their jobs if the Browns suffer their third consecutive losing season in 2023, which would make four losing campaigns out of five since Stefanski entered the scene in 2019. Berry assumed his position as GM in 2020, per Pro Football Reference.
“We feel good about Kevin, feel good about him coming into the season, feel good about Andrew,” Haslam told Cabot during a March 29 interview. “You need to have some breaks and not have too many injuries. The ball bounces your way and you win games. But everybody understands how important that is.”
Cabot asked Haslam directly about contract extensions/job security for the two managerial faces of his franchise — a question the owner largely dodged but still addressed to a degree based on what could be read between the lines.
“That’s premature to say,” Haslam responded. “We’ll talk about that at the appropriate time.”
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