BEREA ― Mason Graham won't be trying to make up for lost time when the Cleveland Browns defensive tackle takes the field Oct. 25 in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans. He's already fought off that urge once.
"Yeah, I mean it almost took other people telling me to just protect myself, just take it slow, it’s early in the season still," Graham said Oct. 23. "But I really wanted to go out there, but I just didn't feel like I would've played to my standard. So, just feel like get another week and then be ready for this week."
This week was the first time Graham was able to practice every day since spraining the medial collateral ligament in his right knee, as well as an ankle in an Oct. 1 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was not able to practice at all the following week, but did finally come back on Oct. 16.
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Mason Graham injury update, timeline to return
That was an extremely limited return. This week, though, Graham may have been limited the first two days, but he was full-go on the final practice before the Browns depart for Tennessee.
"Yeah, I think after the first couple of days he was trying to get back in and walk through and stuff like that," linebacker Quincy Williams said. "So, I know he's excited. We had to calm him down a couple of plays today, just let him know ‘ay, you know we ain't got no pads on, but love the energy and I hope you save that.’ So excited about it again."
Graham missed two full games because of the injury, the first two games he's missed since being selected No. 5 overall in the 2025 draft. The injury happened with 7:41 remaining in the first quarter of the Steelers game, making essentially a third game he missed.
At the time of the injury, though, that would have been a timeline that most around the Browns, including Graham, would've taken. While he did not require the cart to take him to the locker room, the way the medical staff was looking at his leg left no one with an optimistic feeling as they went to bed that night.
"Yeah, in the moment I thought I didn't know what to think," Graham said. "I've never seriously injured myself in any sort of way like that, but kind of felt like that in the moment. But thankfully all glory to God, protected over me, said a little prayer and wasn't too bad, just a little bump on the road."
The Browns managed to clear that bump relatively well. At least they did with their defensive tackles.
Cleveland went 1-1 in that span, but finds itself still in first place in the AFC North thanks to a win over the Baltimore Ravens Oct. 18. That was the game Graham was trying to get back for when he returned to practice two days earlier, but just couldn't quite get to the point where the knee felt good enough.
"It feels good," Graham said. "Just had a little rust on Wednesday. I didn't feel like I practiced my best and then came back Thursday and today and feel like I'm back to myself and playing how I was before."
How Graham was playing before was at an All-Pro level, to be quite honest, He had accumulated four sacks in the first three games, marking the first Browns player since Myles Garrett in 2019 to have at least one sack in each of the first three games.
Despite the time off, Graham remains the Browns' sack leader. Nipping at his heels is his fellow defensive tackle, the veteran Maliek Collins, who has 3.5 sacks, all of them in the last three games.
'We're a family': Browns defensive tackles a tight-knit unit
In fact, the Browns' defensive tackles as a group have elevated their overall play in that span. That position has been responsible for six sacks in that span, including 1.5 by Adin Huntington, who stepped into Graham's starting spot at that time.
"I mean, we're a family," Huntington told the Beacon Journal. "Four equals one, from Malik to Mason, Sam [Kamara] Mike (Hall Jr.], myself, really whoever we have. I mean, I don't think there's any difference in the standard. Whoever runs out there, they're expected to play to the standard. They're expected to play with fanatical effort and they're expected to make plays and have fun. So I think when Sam and I both stepped up, we showcased that and did that to the best of our ability."
The Browns remain down a key defensive tackle with Hall still recovering from the ankle injury he played on against the Steelers. He came back to start the second half against the Steelers after having left late in the second quarter with the injury.
Graham's not surprised by any of that, however. Instead, it just gives him more confidence in the group as it gets closer to being whole again with his return.
"Yeah, I feel like those guys have always played to that level," Graham said. "I've always seen that in my eyes, but maybe it just came to the light when everyone seen them when we were playing in the games. But I'm used to that. I knew what they were going to do once I knew I was going to be out. I knew they were going to take care of business. We have good guys in the room that get everyone right. Everyone's on the same page and just working together."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter at https://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns DT Mason Graham wasn't coming back until 'standard' was met
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