The Cleveland Browns had high expectations for safety Grant Delpit when they selected him in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Sadly, he went down with a torn Achilles injury last September and didn’t take a snap for the Browns in the regular season.
The hope was that Delpit would be able to rest and recover for the beginning of the 2021 season.
Unfortunately, Delpit suffered a hamstring injury in early August and has been sidelined since then.
Keeping Hope Alive
These injury issues are obviously frustrating for both the Browns and Delpit.
The organization was hopeful that both Deplit and Greedy Williams could get a full training camp before the 2021 season.
Luckily, Williams has stayed healthy and looked good after missing the 2020 season due to a nerve issue in his shoulder.
The season opener isn’t until September 12th, but time is quickly fading for Delpit.
It doesn’t sound like the second-year safety has done much work at all during camp.
In fact, secondary coach Jeff Howard mentioned Delpit has only done a handful of drills thus far.
“He hasn’t really had a whole lot of snaps for us, but he was around in minicamp and he’s been around,’’ Jeff Howard said, via Mary Kay Cabot. “But unfortunately I think he’s had like nine team reps up to this point, so it’s been very few and far between for Grant.’’
There is no doubting that Delpit is talented and has tremendous upside.
However, he could be asked to play a rotational role to start the season and that’s assuming he is actually healthy by September.
Luckily, the Browns added insurance at the safety spot in case something like this happened and Delpit was unable to play by the start of the regular season.
New Faces On Defense
It’s obvious that improving on defense was a focal point for the Browns this offseason.
They signed multiple starter caliber defenders this offseason and drafted some potential defensive studs as well.
One of the bigger pieces added this offseason was the signing of safety John Johnson III.
He was an important part of the No.1 ranked Los Angeles Rams defense from a season ago.
Johnson is already showing Cleveland he was worth the money during training camp drills.
https://twitter.com/BrownstownUSA/status/1425821407963983872
He’ll move right into the starting free safety spot, but who plays alongside him is still uncertain.
Right now, it sounds like Ronnie Harrison will take over the strong safety job.
He did well during limited time with the Browns last season and is certainly capable of holding his own on the field.
Outside of that, Sheldrick Redwine is a decent backup option, but is nursing an ankle injury.
Both Jovante Moffatt and Richard LeCounte could be asked to play bigger roles on defense.
That is assuming both Delpit and Redwine are sidelined to start the season.
The absence of Delpit is certainly a bummer for fans, but at least it sounds like a minor issue and hopefully, he’ll be able to get on the field soon.
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