The old saying that “the NFL stands for Not For Long” has been proven to be true over and over again. Player careers are short, and often shortened by injury or poor play (Hello, Jedrick Wills), and what you can expect from teams (worst to first and vice versa) can flip every year.
For the Cleveland Browns, the fact that DE Myles Garrett is on another team is proof of how quickly things change in the NFL. Browns fans are still waiting for that huge turnaround where their team is a real competitor
year after year instead of one of the ‘worst go of it’ fan bases.
The Carolina Panthers, Cleveland’s home opener opponent in Week 3, are learning quickly just how fast things can change. The surprise NFC South winner in 2025, the Panthers had a lot of injury issues in their first few days of camp:
- CB Jaycee Horn – Non-Football Injury – Due to stitches in his foot
- OL Taylor Moton – Non-Football Injury – Due to blood clots
- OL Ikem Ekwonu – PUP – Torn patellar tendon recovery
- DT Tershawn Wharton – PUP – Neck surgery
- DT Bobby Brown III – Non-Football Injury – Hamstring
- DE/OLB Nic Scourton – IR – ACL
Then, on Tuesday, TE Mitchell Evans was carted off the field with an injury scare, which is not believed to be serious, followed by rookie WR Chris Brazzell II tearing his LCL on Wednesday, which will knock him out through at least the Browns Week 3 matchup:
Whether it is a major injury/medical issue like Moton and Scourton or just losing multiple depth pieces, a team’s season can become much more difficult quickly in the NFL. Cleveland’s Week 3 opponent continues to have bad luck hit them very early in the 2026 process.
