BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Mason Graham's season appeared to be in jeopardy when the Browns defensive tackle went down with a knee injury during the first half against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 1.
It turns out, Graham only had to miss two games and will be back in the lineup on Sunday when the Browns hit the road to face the Tennessee Titans.
Even though it was originally feared that Graham might have suffered a torn ACL, it ended up being a left MCL sprain and an ankle sprain.
“I’ve never seriously injured myself in any sort of way like that, but kind of felt like that in the moment. But thankfully it wasn’t too bad. Just a little bump on the road,” Graham said after Friday's practice.
Graham's quick return was also a welcome sight for coach Todd Monken, who also was relieved that Graham's injury was not as serious as it first appeared.
“I think we’ve got a lot of guys that are wired the right way. I think that says a lot about them, and how much they enjoy playing with their teammates and being on the field together and not wanting to let their brother down and getting out there and doing whatever they can to get back," Monken said. "And I think being connected helps with that. I think winning helps that. I think having a strong coaching staff that supports the players, and I think it’s all of the above, but it says a lot about the players themselves.”
Graham, the fifth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft out of Michigan, got off to a great start this season with four sacks in the first three games. He was the first defensive tackle to have at least one sack in the first three games since Chicago's Akiem Hicks in 2020 and the first at 23 years old or younger since Dan “Big Daddy” Wilkinson did it with Cincinnati in 1996.
Graham nearly returned for last week's game against Baltimore, but the training and coaching staffs thought it would be best for him to wait another week to be able to go full speed.
He was limited on Wednesday and Thursday this week but participated in all the team drills on Friday.
“It’s early in the season still. I just felt like it would get another week and then be ready for this week,” he said.
Cleveland goes into Sunday's game second in the league with 19 sacks, with 11 players recording at least one and Graham leading the team. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins is second with 3 1/2 and has one in each of the past three games while defensive end Isiah McGuire has three.
The sack numbers are encouraging considering linebacker Jared Verse, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Rams as part of the Myles Garrett trade, is still looking for his first sack with Cleveland.
Besides Graham, Monken is hoping to get safety Grant Delpit back for Sunday. The safety is in the concussion protocol but could be cleared on Saturday.
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