Now that Myles Garrett has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL, the Cleveland Browns will be without their top defensive lineman for the rest of the 2019 season. Replacing the NFL’s current sack leader will not be easy.
Getting Olivier Vernon back into the lineup at full strength will be the biggest help. Vernon has missed the last two games with a knee injury. Prior to that, he was consistently providing pressure off the edge opposite Garrett. In fact, he had more QB pressures on the season than Garrett did through Week 9.
Vernon has not shown the ability to finish his pressures this year, racking up three sacks. That will need to change. He is the best-suited Browns player to become the alpha pass rusher.
Chad Thomas has stepped up nicely in Vernon’s absence, but the pressure is now on the second-year EDGE to be a full-time starter. Thomas has a sack in each of the last two games and also broke up a 4th-down pass attempt (that Mason Rudolph essentially threw into him), so he is making some impact. It will be interesting to see if he can do it more consistently and eliminate the stretches where he’s too easily blocked.
Chris Smith will also need to step up. The veteran reserve has been very quiet in limited duty. Newcomer Bryan Cox Jr. is a bigger, stouter version of Genard Avery, who was traded away earlier this season.
There is still a chance the Browns could look outside the current team. Garrett’s suspension does leave a vacant spot on the 53-man roster. With no defensive linemen on the practice squad, there will probably be a move to at least add someone there.
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