After a dominant 2024 season from Denzel Ward, the rest of the Browns' cornerback room faces uncertainty. Greg Newsome II struggled, and Martin Emerson Jr. encountered adversity. While Ward provides stability, the team's overall defensive performance declined, raising questions about the future of the group.
Denzel Ward had a dominant 2024 season -- the rest of the Browns cornerbacks? Not so much. There's now the possibility of uncertainty and stability in this room going forward.He turned in one of the best individual seasons in his career, even as the team limped to a 3-14 finish.
Despite leading the league in passes defensed with 19, proving to be one of the most disruptive players, Ward was denied an All-Pro nod. His teammate Myles GarrettThe cornerback room has been one of the most stable on the team in recent years. If all goes according to plan in 2025, it will be the fourth year together for the core of Ward, Greg Newsome II and Martin Emerson Jr. At the very least, Ward provides stability. But after a down year, overall there’s still an air of uncertainty in terms of how the group may bounce back.What Browns' OC interviews reveal about Kevin Stefanski’s priorities: Orange and Brown Talk However, he ended the year on injured reserve after injuring his hamstring against the Steelers in Week 14. A hamstring injury also cost him the entirety of training camp. “Obviously going through the hamstring injury before, I worked my tail off to make sure I was back,” Newsome said on locker cleanout day. “I wasn’t a hundred percent when I came back, but I just came out there for my teammates. That’s what I decided to do and I definitely wouldn’t regret it. I was able to play a lot more of the season and then got hurt in the last quarter of that Pittsburgh game, but it sucks. But that’s the NFL and I’ll find a way to be healthy next year.” In 13 games, Newsome turned in a 54.0 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus, ranking him 104th among qualifying corners. He had one interception and allowed catches on 67.4% of plays on which he was targeted. While he’s under contract for next season, it’s worth noting that Newsome has also routinely been the target of trade rumors over the last couple of years, too. There’s still no long-term extension in place for the 2021 first-round pick . “That’s always the hope to get something long term in the city that I love,” Newsome said. “But like we were just talking about earlier, it’s the NFL. It is a quick business. You kind of don’t know what’s going on, especially when a team has a season that we felt like we weren’t supposed to have, we don’t know what’s going to happen, but that’s definitely a goal of mine.”His 48.4 coverage grade from PFF was the worst of his career by far , and ranked him 117th among qualifying corners. It was by far the most adversity he’s faced in his three years in Cleveland. “He handled it well, I mean we’re all going to face adversity in life, adversity on the football field, but it’s about how we respond,” Ward said of Emerson.In the 2024 offseason, Emerson took Ward up on his offer to train together in Florida. It’s an offer Ward plans to once again extend to his defensive teammates. “I’m definitely opening up my home and my training to any guys that want to come out and work out with me,” Ward said. “It don’t just start once we get back in the building, so even off the field, just trying to grow and be better and be the best we can, best DB room, best cornerback room in the league.”As a whole, the defensive struggles extended beyond the cornerback room as they were unable to extend their 2023 hype in 2024. The Browns went from first in overall defense to 19th . They went from the top-ranked passing defense to the 12th . Last year’s 11th-ranked rushing defense finished 21st . They struggled to create takeaways, tied for 30th in the NFL with only 12. The offense gave the ball away a league-worst 34 times, resulting in the league’s worst turnover differential at minus-22 The reasons for the drop off are multiple: The Browns rarely played with a lead and the offense couldn’t protect the football, and as a result gave opponents a lot of short fields.“I mean coaches, they’re going to scout, watch film just like everyone does week in and week out and try to find the best way to attack a team,” Ward said. “I mean it could be a number of things. It could be injuries. I know we had a lot of our key guys out.” Star linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah last played Week 8, when he suffered a scary neck injury against the Ravens. In addition to Newsome ending the season on IR, so did defensive tackles Shelby Harris and Maurice Hurst , and edge rusher Alex Wright . Ward had to battle through a shoulder injury and concussions, and in the finale against Baltimore, rookie DT Mike Hall Jr. suffered a serious right knee injury that led to him being carted off. After a disappointing season, there’s only so much players will be able to control heading into 2025. But Ward, at the helm of the position, is approaching the offseason and year ahead the same way he always has. “I’m leaving all of the decision making really up to A.B. , Kevin and all those guys,” Ward said. “I love playing with my brothers here and like I said, in the NFL changes will be made and that’s something that I learned coming into the league and it’s been different every year, so just whatever team we got, just try to work hard and find ways to get wins for this city, Cleveland and go from there.”If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
NFL Browns Denzel Ward Greg Newsome II Martin Emerson Jr. Cornerback Defensive Performance
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