Browns defensive line injuries have mounted, but here’s why Jim Schwartz isn’t worried about snap counts and rotations
BEREA, Ohio — It turns out, Jim Schwartz accounted for this exact scenario all along.
The Browns defensive coordinator has been a mastermind all season and a big part of that has been his meticulous rotations of eight defensive linemen.
So is it really that surprising he knew there would very likely come a point where he might have to lean heavier on the guys at the top of his depth chart in the event of a slew of injuries?
“Some of the discipline from early in the year, we talked about Myles (Garrett),” Schwartz said Thursday. “I can’t remember which game it was, but he played a really high number of snaps. It was before his shoulder was injured. But we said you can do that if you have the discipline to pace yourself at times early in the season. So I think we have benefited from that. We’ve tried to keep some reps off of those guys, and as you get late into December and January football, those guys can click up.”
It’s the position Cleveland now finds itself in after losing three defensive linemen in one game.
Maurice Hurst (pectoral) is done for the year after undergoing surgery on a torn pectoral muscle. Ogbo Okoronkwo (pectoral) is likely lost for the season for the same reason. Jordan Elliott remains in the concussion protocol after exiting Sunday’s game. And that’s to say nothing of the fact that they’ve already had a scare with Garrett, who injured his left shoulder so badly against the Broncos that he exited that stadium in a sling — he’s returned in the two subsequent contests, however, a break for all parties involved.
