After suffering an ugly-looking injury on during the Cleveland Browns win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night, Mason Graham got a a best case scenario prognosis
The Cleveland Browns can breathe a sigh of relief.
Young defensive tackle Mason Graham appears to have dodged a bullet after injuring his knee during the Cleveland Browns 27-24 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night.
An MRI revealed that Graham suffered an MCL sprain and a sprained ankle, according to multiple reports. Ailments that will keep the 2025 No. 5 overall pick out for several weeks. Graham was seen postgame leaving the locker room on crutches and with a brace on his knee.
The fact that Graham avoided a season-ending ailment is good news for the Browns, even if they'll be with one of their rising stars on defense for a couple of weeks.
Graham was able to play just seven snaps on Thursday night before exiting the game. He was the unfortunate victim of friendly fire as Jared Verse looped inside and was down-blocked into Graham's leg, causing the injuries with 7:41 remaining in the first quarter. After the play, Graham spent a few minutes down on the ground before walking off under his own power with team trainers. Shortly after he was seen walking back into the locker room.
Despite losing Graham, the Browns defense still put together an impressive performance against their division rival. In his absence, the defensive line was still able to rack up five sacks on veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Isaiah McGuire, Maliek Collins, Adin Huntington, Sam Williams and Mike Hall Jr. each grabbed one sack apiece. The defense also forced two interceptions from Rodgers.
Graham, meanwhile, had entered the contest with a team-high four sacks through the first three games. His breakout performance was already garnering early consideration for Defensive Player of the Year.
At this stage, it's unclear exactly how much time Graham will miss for the Browns. Hall Jr. will likely get a lot more run as one of the starting DT in his place.
Hall Jr. also suffered an injury during the Week 4 win, exiting the game with an ankle injury of his own late in the second quarter. Hall Jr.'s injury seemed back enough that he had to be carted to the locker room. He returned late in the third quarter to sack Rodgers on a critical third-and-15 to keep the Steelers out or scoring range.
Without Graham, Cleveland's depth along the d-line will certainly be tested, but if Week 4 was any indication, the other members of the group are plenty capable of holding their own in the meantime.
