Scary news as Browns DC, Jim Schwartz gives an insight on Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah injury development.

BEREA, Ohio — For linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah of the Browns, this season has been all about growth. Like most defense players, he had ups and downs in 2022, and his season came to a close with a Lisfranc injury that kept him out of the final four games.

The 24-year-old linebacker’s two main goals for this offseason were to rehabilitate from his foot injury and, as his linebackers coach, Jason Tarver, stated in the spring, to gain strength.

This season has felt like nothing but the arrow pointing up for him and his play on Sunday against the Bears garnered high praise from head coach Kevin Stefanski in his Monday Zoom call with reporters.

Stefanski remarked, “He was all over the field in that game.” “He has been a pretty good football player for us this entire season. However, he was all over the place in that game, making big plays at some crucial times.

A career best in sacks (3.5), tackles (84), quarterback hits (5), and tackles for loss (18) has already been achieved by Owusu-Koramoah. This season, the only players with more tackles for loss are Maxx Crosby of Las Vegas and Danielle Hunter of Minnesota.

Pro Football Focus reports that he has had the most pressures of any non-defensive lineman for the Browns this season with 13.

Defense coordinator Jim Schwartz stated on Thursday that “his step as a young player was sort of mastering his own position first. He had a little bit of ups and downs, but he was making good progress.”

The recent month has seen Owusu-Koramoah begin to gain momentum. He has two sacks, two tackles for loss, and, on Sunday at the end of the first half against the Bears, he recorded his first career interception. He has played in the previous four games. Part of the reason for this is because Schwartz is giving him greater responsibilities and he is participating in more defensive packages.

“He’s played at a really high level the last month or so, and we’ve made a big point to try to get him more on those things,” Schwartz said. “It puts more on his plate having to do techniques that he hasn’t done before, lead the huddle, do those kinds of things that he hasn’t done before.”

Owusu-Koramoah has seen an uptick in his defensive snaps. He played more than 80% of the defensive snaps just one time in the first 10 games of the season. In the last four games, he’s played 90%, 86%, 93% and 86%.

Last week, had the Browns had more prep time, he might have had the opportunity to take on more of Anthony Walker Jr.’s role. Walker was a gametime decision and was inactive for the game with a knee injury.

“When AWalk couldn’t play before the game, it’s probably a little bit too late to get Jeremiah in that role,” Schwartz said.

According to data from PFF, Owusu-Koramoah has lined up the most at either left inside linebacker or left linebacker with 251 combined snaps. He’s lined up on the right side 204 times and just 31 times as the middle linebacker.

Above all, he fits Schwartz’s ideal linebacker profile—downhill attackers who clear up the mess the defensive line makes—no matter where he lines up.

Growing into a more conventional linebacker—a player who seldom needs to leave the field—is Owusu-Koramoah’s next step, and Schwartz thinks he’s ready for it.