The Cleveland Browns will be without the special teams services of cornerback Tony Brown for at least the next four games after placing the former Alabama cornerback on injured reserve.
Brown went to injured reserve Tuesday due to a foot injury after playing 136 plays on special teams over Cleveland’s last six games. He ranks fifth on the team in special teams plays in 2024, despite not appearing in the first two games of the season.
On his first play of the season for Cleveland, Brown forced a fumble on the opening kickoff against the New York Giants on September 22.
NFL rules require injured players to miss at least four games before being reinstated to the active roster. The Browns’ next four opponents are the Los Angeles Chargers on November 3, the New Orleans Saints on November 17 after Cleveland’s bye week, the Pittsburgh Steelers on November 21 and the Denver Broncos on December 2.
Brown joined the Browns as a free agent in March. He spent the first five weeks of the 2024 season on the practice squad. Brown played three more games as a practice squad elevation. Because practice squad players are limited to three lifts per season, Cleveland had to place Brown on its 53-man active roster to keep him playing, and the Browns did so on October 10.
Brown entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie in 2018 coming off Alabama’s 2017 CFP national championship team. In 67 NFL games for four teams, he was on the field for 494 defensive snaps and 1,193 special teams plays.
The Browns will face the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday at noon CST at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
