Browns Fans Receive Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah Update

There was always a small hope that Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah could eventually make it back onto the field for the Browns. Unfortunately, that hope took another major hit on Friday.

The Cleveland Browns officially placed Owusu-Koramoah on the reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list because of the serious neck injury he suffered during the 2024 season, meaning he will miss the entire 2026 season. This will be the second straight season the Pro Bowl linebacker will spend on reserve/PUP, and at this point, his NFL future appears increasingly uncertain.

For Browns fans, it is a difficult reality to accept. Owusu-Koramoah was one of the defense’s most explosive and unique playmakers, and there was real excitement about the possibility of eventually seeing him share the field with second-year linebacker Carson Schwesinger. That pairing had the potential to give Cleveland another fast, physical, attacking linebacker duo in the middle of the defense. Instead, the focus has shifted far beyond football.

Owusu-Koramoah’s injury occurred on 27th October 2024, during a collision with Derrick Henry in a game against the Baltimore Ravens. He was immobilized on a backboard, carted off the field, and transported to University Hospitals for overnight observation after suffering a severe neck compression injury.

At the time, reports indicated he still had feeling in his extremities. But in a powerful essay written as part of his acceptance into the Harvard Kennedy School master’s program in public policy, Owusu-Koramoah revealed the terrifying truth of what happened in those moments after the hit.

“Suddenly, head to toe, I went paralyzed,” Owusu-Koramoah wrote. “As I lay on the field, unable to move, my thought was only, ‘Please God, let me get up.’”

He also shared that doctors warned him the injury could potentially end his career. Rather than letting that reality consume him, Owusu-Koramoah explained how the recovery process forced him to reflect on who he is beyond football and the impact he wants to make away from the game.

The linebacker, who is under contract through next season and carries $11.031 million guaranteed this year, will begin classes at Harvard this fall as he prepares for what may become life after football.

Even with the uncertainty surrounding his future, Owusu-Koramoah already leaves behind an impressive NFL resume. Since being selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, he has recorded 308 tackles, eight sacks, three interceptions, and six forced fumbles across 49 career games.

More importantly, he became one of the emotional leaders and most respected players inside the Browns organization.

While fans had been holding onto hope that he could one day return to the field in Cleveland, the priority now seems to be his long-term health and the next chapter of his life.