The Cleveland Browns are heading into Sunday’s game against the New York Jets with some issues at defensive tackle.
On Friday, the team ruled out Mason Graham (knee/ankle) and Mike Hall Jr. (ankle), as well as Kalia Davis,
who just had his 21-day practice window opened this week after returning from the injured reserve list with a quad injury.That left the Browns with Maliek Collins and the versatile Adin Huntington as the only healthy options, not an ideal situation, but also one that had defensive
coordinator Mike Rutenberg not making any excuses for this week:
“Since we’ve been together as a defensive line and as a team, we go as our engine goes. So that engine is revved up, no matter what. And that’s the great part about Jac (Jacques Cesaire) and the D-line coaches and the men in that room. Like, that’s the Bugatti, man. And that thing goes and goes and goes, and there will never be an excuse or a reason for it not to go. And we feed off that. Not only the way they play, but their personality.”
Reinforcements arrived on Saturday as the Browns have elevated defensive tackles Sam Kamara and Chris Williams from the practice squad to the game-day roster. He has 38 tackles and six tackles for loss in his career.
The 6-foot and 272-pound Kamara originally signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2021. He has played in 26 career games, 18 of which have been with the Browns.
The 6-foot-2 and 298-pound Williams originally signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He has played in 44 career games between the Colts (2021 and 2022) and the Chicago Bears (2024 and 2025). He has four sacks, 43 tackles, 10 quarterback hits, and four tackles for loss in his career.
Is it an ideal situation? No. But Rutenberg and the defensive staff likely had a good idea that Graham and Hall would not be able to go this week, so hopefully they came up with a plan to negate the absence of two of their best defensive tackles.
