Browns cornerback Martin Emerson Jr.'s season-ending Achilles tear is more than just a on-the-field loss to many of his teammates.
BEREA — Jack Conklin understands exactly what Martin Emerson Jr. is going through right now.
The Browns right tackle's six years in Cleveland has been marred by various injuries. Not little ones either, but significant ones that don't just end one season, but eat into the next one as well.
Emerson, the fourth-year cornerback, will have season-ending surgery to repair the Achilles tendon in his left leg he tore July 29. As difficult as the physical recovery can be, there's also a mental piece of the process, one exacerbated by a level of separation anxiety that comes with being away from teammates.
"It’s tough, it’s tough," Conklin said. "Anytime going through an injury like that, especially a long-term one, it is a lot on you mentally and just having the guys … I’m lucky offensive line, especially, such a close-knit unit. The guys were always checking on me when I was going through stuff and I try to stay a part of it and watch the games and be on top of when I can help them with little things. Try to let them know, just to keep my mind in the game.
"But, yeah, it’s really just a day-by-day thing. You’ve got to take it with incremental steps and just look at the overall, how much you’re recovering and how much mentally you’re staying steady."
Cornerback Greg Newsome II will be the player who likely gains the most on the field from Emerson's injury. He'll be the one certainly starting on the outside opposite Pro Bowler Denzel Ward, both in the base defense and in the nickel.
Newsome understands well the "business" part of it all; the questions about increased snaps and "next man up" and all of those things. However, he also knows very well the person whose season just ended on a freak non-contact play.
It's the conundrum that is life in the NFL.
"Yeah, football obviously is football," Newsome said. "He's a huge piece of our defense, but just as being a brother to me it's bigger than the game of football. A guy that I've seen since the offseason started, been putting in a lot of work, been one of the last guys to leave the building every single day.
"A guy that just brings passion, energy, I'm going to definitely miss him out there as a brother. I'm going to miss him every single snap. I definitely feel for him, but I know he'll get through this and he'll be back to his form."
Newsome has had to deal with the loss of a couple of teammates to injuries this year. The former 2021 first-round pick learned in May that his fellow 2021 draft class member Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah would be out for the season while he continues to recover from his 2024 neck injury.
Emerson adds a member of the same position group to the list. There's also a reversal of roles for the two cornerbacks from a year ago, when Newsome was sidelined for all of training camp due to hamstring surgery.
"I mean speaking of Martin first," Newsome said. "When I wasn't here all training camp, when I had to get surgery, he was one of the guys that texted me every single day to keep me a part of the team and things like that. And like I said, it's bigger than football with me and him.
"We're brothers, we talk almost every week during the off season. We're always FaceTiming, not even about football, just about life. So he knows how we are. I'll be calling him every single week. He'll be back here and I'll definitely keep his spirits up. Like I said, it's bigger than football with me and him, so I'll definitely be talking to him all the time."
The toughest part can often be in the initial stages of the recovery process. That's when the player can be the most isolated from the team, especially before a surgery.
Coach Kevin Stefanski believes it's incumbent upon the organization to be there for the player's mental and emotional well-being.
"Oftentimes when you get injured, you have to go get surgery somewhere else and then you come back and whether you’re rehabbing here or elsewhere, you’ training room and it’s hard," Stefanski said. "It depends on where you are in your rehab, whether you can get back and join meetings and even that can be hard mentally for some. Some guys really need that and want that to stay in some guys it hurts that they’re not a part of it. So, you try to just work with the player circumstantially where they are and what they need."
The Browns have yet to play a preseason game, but since May, they've lost three key defenders for the season, and some longer. There was Owusu-Koramoah in May, then linebacker Jordan Hicks wasn't lost to an injury, but elected to retire after an 10-year career on July 25.
Emerson now adds another one to the list. That addition, though, doesn't subtract from Newsome's belief in what the Browns' defense can be this season.
"Yeah, we could be as good as we want to be," Newsome said. "We got some young guys. Carson is amazing. He's been playing great since day one, so I'm super excited for him to get an opportunity. In my room at least we got corners all around the board. We got a lot of young guys that have been primed for this moment.
"Like you said, obviously, Martin is a guy, you can't replace. Everything that he does on the field, it is very, very, very tough to replace. But we got guys that are going to step up and make some plays for us this season."
Chris Easterling can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Martin Emerson Jr.'s injury 'bigger than football' for Browns teammates
Category: General Sports
