Cleveland Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah will not play for a second straight season after the team placed him on the reserve/physically unable to perform list on Friday.
The transaction removes Owusu-Koramoah, a 2023 Pro Bowler, from the team’s 90-man roster and makes him unavailable to be activated this season.
Owusu-Koramoah last played an NFL game in Oct. 2024 when he suffered a neck injury. Browns general manager Andrew Berry told reporters in February that he was “not overly optimistic” that 26-year-old would ever play football again.
Owusu-Koramoah has used his time away from football to pursue a master’s degree in public policy at Harvard University.
Speaking to Browns website reporter Kelsey Russo in April, Owusu-Koramoah has undergone different treatments for his neck injury, while at the same time deciding whether it’s worth it to play again.
“For my recovery, I have been resting and going through different treatments, whether it’s soft tissue work, needling or other forms of therapy,” he said. “But most importantly, I’ve been in deep conversation with specialists and physicians trying to understand the true risks of returning. It’s not just whether I can play again; it’s about understanding the cost of continuing and making a decision with one-hundred percent certainty.”
The Browns selected Owusu-Koramoah in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame. He played 25 games over his first two seasons before making a big impact in his third year in the league.
In 2023, Owusu-Koramoah recorded 71 solo tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and two interceptions as he became part of a strong defensive core with Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward.