Report: Browns LB Jacob Phillips to miss season with a torn pec

The 2023 NFL season is unfortunately over for Cleveland Browns linebacker Jacob Phillips, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. He sustained a torn pectoral in Friday night’s preseason game against the Washington Commanders.

Phillips played in Cleveland’s preseason opener on Friday, recording five tackles in the contest. He was working his way back from a pectoral issue that cost him a majority of the 2022 campaign.

Last season, Phillips played in seven games for the Browns. He tallied 46 tackles and two sacks.

Browns’ linebacker Jacob Phillips, a former starter who finished last season on injured reserve due to a pectoral injury, will miss this season with a torn pec, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 12, 2023

Phillips was selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of LSU. He’s spent his entire career with Cleveland. Over the course of his first three seasons in the league, the linebacker has played in 20 games with eight starts.

Phillips has totaled 88 tackles and three sacks in his early career. Unfortunately, he’ll have to wait until 2024 to get back onto the field.

Cleveland dropped their preseason opener to Washington 17-15. The Browns still have games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs to round out preseason action.

Grant Delpit misses Browns preseason game for graduation

Browns fans tuned into Friday night’s preseason game didn’t get the chance to see Grant Delpit in action. The defensive back had another matter to attend while his teammates took the field.

Delpit attended his graduation at LSU, where he earned a degree in kinesiology. His contributions to LSU weren’t limited to the classroom. The safety was a two-time, first-team All-SEC honoree with the Tigers and won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back in 2019.

During his tenure with the Tigers, Delpit amassed 199 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks and 8.0 interceptions. Additionally, in 2019, Delpit boosted LSU to its first national title since since 2007.

The Browns selected Delpit with No. 44 overall pick in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. After suffering a torn Achilles tendon in his rookie season, he appeared in 32 games over the last two seasons. The Louisiana native tallied 105 tackles with four tackles for loss, 10 passes defended and four interceptions in 17 games last season.

We’ll see how much time Delpit gets in Cleveland’s next two preseason games. But he had a pretty good excuse to miss the first contest of the 2023 season.

The Browns open the 2023 regular season against division rival Cincinnati on Sunday, Sept. 10.