Browns LB Walker will miss at least 3 games
The Cleveland Browns will be without their defensive signal-caller for at least the next three games.
The team announced it placed middle linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. on injured reserve Friday after he suffered a hamstring injury in Thursday's practice.
Players on IR must miss a minimum of three games. The first one for Walker will be Sunday's home opener between the Browns (0-1) and Houston Texans (1-0) at Firstenergy Stadium.
Walker, starting left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. (ankle) and key backup offensive lineman Chris Hubbard (triceps) didn't practice Friday. Walker watched from the sideline and Wills rode a stationary bike during the portion of practice open to reporters. Center JC Tretter (knee) returned to practice after sitting out the previous two days.
If neither Wills nor Hubbard can face the Texans, rookie James Hudson or Blake Hance will start at left tackle Sunday.
Walker logged 62 snaps, or 95% of the defensive plays, in Sunday's 33-29 season-opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He compiled a game-high nine tackles.
A free-agent acquisition in March, Walker spent the past four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, who drafted him in the fifth round out of Northwestern University in 2017. He started 48 of the 57 regular-season games in which he appeared with the Colts and compiled 343 tackles, 31⁄2 sacks, 11 passes defensed, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.
Walker played all but one game for the Colts the past three seasons before signing a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Browns in the offseason.
The Browns have four other linebackers who played in a rotation in the opener. They are rookie second-round selection Jeremiah Owusu-koramoah (25 snaps, two tackles), Mack Wilson (22 snaps, three tackles), Sione Takitaki (22 snaps, one tackle) and Malcolm Smith (17 snaps, one tackle). Rookie fifthround choice Tony Fields II was inactive against the Chiefs.
It's unclear whether the Browns will use another linebacker to handle Walker's responsibility of relaying defensive coordinator Joe Woods' play calls to the rest of the defense. Safety John Johnson III is another candidate because he served as the signal-caller for the Los Angeles Rams last season, when their defense ranked first in the NFL.
This is the second significant injury of the year in the Browns' linebacking corps.
A 2020 third-round choice, Jacob Phillips suffered a torn biceps tendon Aug. 19 in a joint practice with the New York Giants. Phillips landed on IR on Sept. 1, when coach Browns Kevin Stefanski said he had reason to be optimistic Phillips will be able to play again this year.
The Browns will likely elevate linebacker Elijah Lee from the practice squad to the active roster before Sunday's home opener. He played 21 snaps on special teams against the Chiefs but didn't appear on defense.