The Cleveland Browns had high expectations for Martin Emerson Jr. this season.
He was one of the strongest bounce-back candidates after a disappointing campaign, and he had plenty to prove.
Unfortunately, that’s not going to be the case anymore.
He suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in practice, and he’ll be on the shelf for the final season of his rookie deal.
Even so, he’s not letting this setback break his stride.
When asked about it, he sounded optimistic and eager to learn from this experience:
“Thankful. Blessed. Who thought we’d be here, though, with a ruptured Achilles? Sometimes, you don’t get the results you want. I got to learn from this. Something I’m gonna learn from this. I just don’t know what yet. Going to put my head down to work, bro, harder than I ever have,” Emerson said.
Emerson is looking at a long way back and some major questions.
He looked like a potential star in his first two seasons in the league before last year’s regression, so he was no longer a lock to get another contract with the team.
Of course, the Browns would rather keep him around because of his talent and potential, but this season was going to be crucial for him to prove that he had what it took to thrive in this league.
Now, the Browns might still choose to bring him back, albeit on a short-term and not-so-lucrative ‘prove it’ kind of contract.
This was a big blow to Jim Schwartz’s secondary as well.
The Browns will now have to scramble to find someone to start in the slot alongside Greg Newsome II and Denzel Ward.
Injuries are the worst part of the game, and they can’t be avoided most of the time.
Hopefully, Emerson will come back stronger than ever from this setback.
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