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The Cleveland Browns will not have Michael Woods available next season, with the second-year receiver rupturing his Achilles while training with quarterback Deshaun Watson in Houston.
The injury is expected to cost Woods his second NFL season, which comes after an solid rookie year in Cleveland. The sixth-round pick made the roster out of camp and appeared in 10 games. He finished with five catches for 45 yards, playing on 23% of the offensive snaps. Woods also played a role on special teams.
A team spokesperson confirmed that it was a torn Achilles for Woods, per Zac Jackson of The Athletic.
The Browns were expecting Woods to “take a big jump” this season, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. And the fact that he was participating in an offseason workout with Watson is evidence of that.
“He’s been doing amazing,” cornerback Greg Newsome II said of Woods during camp. “He’s a very confident guy, which I like. He can run great routes, he’s good off the line and he can catch the football, so I think he’s going to make some plays for us this season.”
Woods dealt with a nagging hamstring injury in training camp, which complicated his rookie year. But he still showed the Browns enough during his initial campaign for the team to have high hopes for him. He likely would have competed for reps in a wide receiver corps that now includes Elijah Moore, Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Marquise Goodwin and fellow young gun David Bell.
Browns Aren’t Done Adding Wide Receivers
The injury to Woods means the Browns will be in the market for more wide receiver depth, which they have already addressed with the trade for Moore and free agent signing of Goodwin.
Prior to the injury, Browns general manager hinted that the team would continue to search for talent at the position.
“I don’t think I ever feel that any unit is ever complete, honestly,” Berry said at the NFL Annual Owners Meetings, via the Akron Beacon Journal. “I think we have a number of good players on that side of the ball that still have to come together. I think we have a nice mix of skillsets with our perimeter group, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to try to add guys to that side of the ball.”
When analyzing the market, the Browns will likely favor speedy pass-catchers, with Berry professing his love for the attribute.
“I love speed,” Berry said, per the team’s official website. “We love speed, and there’s probably no general manager or head coach that says they want to be slow on the perimeter necessarily, but when you have an opportunity to add a good player who can really stress the defense with his ability to run, that’s an opportunity that we’re always going to look to take advantage of.”
The Browns are entering Year 2 of Deshaun Watson and are expected to take more advantage of the former passing leader’s skill set.
“Cleveland’s offense is going to be really interesting next year. Look for the Browns to add a speed wide receiver this off-season to go with Amari Cooper. One source told me ‘They are really going to open up the offense. Go five wide. Pass a lot. This is going to be Deshaun Watson’s offense, not Nick Chubb’s. They will pass a lot more than folks expect,’” Matthew Berry of NBC Sports reported after the combine.
Watson played the final six games for the Browns last season after an 11-game suspension. The team went 3-3 in his starts and completed 58.2% of his passes for 1,102 yards and seven touchdowns with five interceptions.
