Written by Mary Kay Cabot at Cleveland.com
Browns starting defensive end Desmond Bryant planned to make a lot more noise on and off the field in 2016, but his game suddenly went quiet.
Bryant, 30, underwent surgery to Tuesday to repair a torn pectoral muscle and is expected to miss the entire 2016, a source confirmed for cleveland.com. He suffered the injury during a weight workout over the weekend.
Anthony Lima from the team’s flagship station 92.3 The Fan and WOIO Channel 19 first reported the news.
It represents a huge blow for the Browns, who finished 28th in the NFL with 29 sacks last season. Bryant accounted for a team-leading six of those sacks, and finished second on the team in 2014 with five.
It also marks the second time in his four seasons with the Browns that Bryant has endured a major health challenge. In 2013, his first season with the club, he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbreat and underwent an ablation that caused him to miss the final four games of the season.
But he came back strong in 2014 to tie for his career high in sacks and earn the club’s Ed Block Courage Award.
This time around, Bryant will be out five to six months, meaning he’s most likely done for the year.
It’s the second major setback for the Browns’ defensive front, which will be without pass-rusher Armonty Bryant for at least the first four games of the season after his positive test for performance-enhancing drugs. Bryant faces further suspension for his felonious drug charges stemming from a December arrest.
Desmond Bryant, one of the few 30-year-olds to survive the Browns’ youth movement, was poised to step up into more a prominent role this season on and off the field under his former Raiders coach Hue Jackson and defensive coordinator Ray Horton, who coached him here in 2013.
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