How it’s doubtful that Browns LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah will ever return to the field: Mary Kay Cabot

CLEVELAND, Ohio — While many Browns fans have envisioned a dream linebacker duo of 2025 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger and 2023 Pro Bowler Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, it’s not expected to come to fruition. Owusu-Koramoah, who suffered a serious neck injury in a violent collision with Ravens running back Derrick Henry on Oct 27, 2024, is doubtful at best to ever make it back to the playing field, a league source tells cleveland.com. The Browns’ second-round pick in 2021 out of Notre Dame, Owusu-Koramoah sat out all of last season while recuperating from the injury, which involved a serious, visible compression of his neck. He was immobilized on a board, carted off, and taken to University Hospitals for overnight observation. Fortunately for Owusu-Koramoah and the Browns, he had feeling in all of his extremities when he was transported via ambulance to the hospital. But the injury was serious enough to threaten his career. When the Browns announced in May that he’d be out for the 2025 season, Owusu-Koramoah sent a heartfelt message of thanks to his fans, while acknowledging he didn’t know if he’d ever be back. “To the Cleveland Browns fanbase and my supporters worldwide—thank you for your patience in my silence,” he wrote. “From day one, you embraced me as more than a player, but also as a brother and young man with purpose. “I’m grateful to the Browns organization for their full support, and to the world-class doctors guiding me through recovery. “While I won’t suit up this season, I’m focused on what I can control—my healing, my mindset, and my faith. The body may rest, but the calling never sleeps. “I’ve given my heart to this game. I don’t know what’s next, but I’ll continue trusting my medical team, serving the community, and backing my brothers on the field. Former Browns linebacker Jordan Hicks articulated the gravity of Owusu-Koramoah’s injury at the time. “It was tough because we play this game because we love it,” Hicks said. “We sacrifice our bodies for it and we understand the risks that are involved in it, but at the end of the day, you see something like that and it’s real life. I look at my life and I’ve got three kids and a wife at home and it’s like, ‘What if I were to come home like that?’ “And so he’s got family that he loves, people that care about him more than just what he can do on the field. And so it puts things in perspective and you hope and pray that he’s going to make a miraculous recovery. And so, I don’t know, it’s just hard. It’s tough. But you rally around him and you rally around each other.” While the Browns lamented the loss of one of their best defenders and a likely future All-Pro, they were grateful to land Schwesinger at No. 33 overall, where his surprising selection raised plenty of eyebrows. By the end of the season, it was clear that Schwesinger was special, and the future of the Browns’ premier defense. “For us to maybe go outside of the norm (and draft a linebacker that high), we have to project them to be able to do something special or well above average in the passing game,” Browns GM Andrew Berry said during draft weekend. “And for Jeremiah, that was really his ability as a blitzer. He was a great run defender because he can make plays behind the line of scrimmage and everything, but he was really special – or is really special, I should say, as a blitzer. “With Carson, his profile is maybe a little bit different in the fact that he’s shown himself to be a really strong coverage player. Whether man or zone, he very much, like Jeremiah, he’s very good in the run game, very instinctive, a surefire tackler. But when we look at that position and if we’re going to invest significant resources, it’s, ‘Hey, can this player contribute above and beyond on third down?’” Schwesinger exceeded all expectations, earning 40 of 50 votes in AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting after producing one of the finest seasons by a rookie linebacker in NFL history. He finished with a team-high 146 tackles and 11 tackles for a loss, while notching 2.5 sacks, nine quarterback hits, two interceptions and three passes defensed. The tackles and TFLs led all NFL rookies, and he was tied for second with the two picks. He’s one of five linebackers in NFL history to record at least 145 tackles and 10 tackles for loss as a rookie since 2000. His 146 tackles are also the most by a Browns rookie since 1999, while his two picks are the most by a Browns rookie since cornerback Denzel Ward grabbed three in 2018. His seven games with double-digits tackles were the most among NFL rookies, and he owned the longest streak in the NFL with six, which tied Luke Kuechly (six consecutive games in 2012 with Carolina) for the longest such streak by a rookie since 2000. “It’s really been an honor to coach that kid,” former Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said on Jan. 1. “He’s done everything – and he’s played extremely tough. He prepares the same, he goes out and plays effectively. And I think some of the plays that I think he’s played the best are plays that you guys might not notice, because he’ll take something away in the passing game or he’ll play perfectly in the run game and somebody else will make the play. “And he’s been a good leader for us – he’s increased that as the season’s gone on, and I look forward to seeing him even take greater strides as a player. Really a cement block for our defense and I think defensive rookie of the year.” Schwartz also praised the leadership qualities of Schwesinger, who wore the green dot as the defensive signal-caller as a rookie. “I was with Ray Lewis his first three years in the NFL. Ray’s obviously a Hall of Famer, maybe the best ever to play in the linebacker position, but the command that Carson has now in a lot of respects took to Ray’s third year in the league,” Schwartz said in November. “It’s a very difficult position and he’s been right in the middle of it. It’s been fun to watch because not only does he do all that stuff well, but he (also) has great command. He’s a great leader for us. He’s our play caller.” It’s no surprise that Schwesinger asked Owusu-Koramoah for tips when he visited Browns headquarters periodically last season, and studied his film while at UCLA. “He’s definitely one of the ones that you want to emulate, and me specifically, especially coming into this system,” Schwesinger said during rookie minicamp. “I plan to be able to pick his brain a lot and learn a lot from him. “Whether it’s small details about certain things and the formations you’re getting and the common runs or passes you get out of that. Or it could be recovery habits, or what you do to keep your body or to get your body ready for practice.” After signing a three-year extension in August of 2024 worth $12.5 million a year, including $20 million fully guaranteed at signing, Owusu-Koramoah is under contract through 2027. In 2026, $11.031 million of his salary is guaranteed. The Browns are most grateful that Owusu-Koramoah, who served as the Browns’ Dawg Pound captain and smashed the guitar before the Titans game on Dec. 7, walked away from the game he loves. But they were sorry to lose such an incredible talent in his prime. “Jeremiah went to making himself the every-down linebacker,” Tarver said last season. “Having the headset, making the calls to saying, ‘Hey, whoever, Myles (Garrett), move over’ or whatever it is. “He went to that point. And when players get to that point, it’s very exciting for a coach because there wasn’t anything that he can’t do and there wasn’t anything he can’t do athletically, of course, but he had taken himself, his preparation and his performance was just going like this,” Tarver said, pointing at an upward angle. “So anytime any player gets to that level, you’re going to miss that because he was playing at that high level, especially those last (few games) … It’s just the progression. All the things we talked about with the two things that I said every time I came up here, his body and then going play in and play out to make the next play the best play, he’s doing that. “So, yeah, you’re going to miss that. But you also know in this business we need everybody and our guys in that room, we’ve taken it as a challenge and we’ve stepped up.” Unfortunately for the Browns, they’ll likely never see their two amazing linebackers on the field together.