The Browns' thin linebacking corps received positive news Tuesday.
Second-year linebacker Mack Wilson was fortunate to avoid knee surgery following an injury suffered during camp, the team confirmed.
"With all of our guys, you hate to see them go out," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Tuesday. "Then you hope it's always good news when they do go out. ... So this is a good development for Mack."
Wilson essentially confirmed he'd be back sooner than later with a tweet:
In the span of 24 hours or so, the Browns saw two key players go down with an injury. One, running back Nick Chubb, entered the concussion protocol after ending up on the receiving end of high hit from Wilson. The next day, Wilson suffered his knee injury.
Wilson held his head in his hands in a signal that he thought something was very seriously wrong with his knee. He's lucky it's not, and the Browns are thanking the stars because Wilson's injury would have created a significant hole in an already-thin position group.
Behind Wilson is linebacker Tae Davis, and Cleveland rushed out to sign veteran Malcolm Smith following Wilson's injury. The rest of the corps includes fellow second-year linebacker Sione Takitaki, veteran B.J. Goodson and rookie Jacob Phillips. There isn't exactly a ton of depth.
Wilson's news is especially good because of the promise he showed after a successful rookie year. A shorter return timetable will hopefully precede a healthy 2020 season, however long it ends up being for Wilson, which is better than what some feared might have been a season-ending injury.
