CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns' medical staff was more than busy on Sunday, with four players leaving and unable to return the team's 47-42 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. A fifth player, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, sustained a throat contusion and was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.
Owusu-Koramoah was released from the hospital on Sunday and cleared to return to Cleveland. It's unclear at what point in Sunday's loss to the Chargers he suffered the injury.
Currently in his rookie season with the Browns, Owusu-Koramoah has been one of the brightest spots of Cleveland's defense to this point in the 2021 campaign. Through five games, the second-round pick out of Notre Dame has tallied 21 tackles, three pass defenses, half-a-sack and one forced fumble.
In addition to Owusu-Koramoah, cornerback Denzel Ward (neck), cornerback Greedy Williams (shoulder), right tackle Jack Conklin (knee) and safety M.J. Stewart (hamstring) suffered injuries against Los Angeles. The Browns had already entered Sunday's Week 5 matchup without wide receiver Jarvis Landry (sprained MCL), starting left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. (ankle), defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (elbow) and cornerback Greg Newsome II (calf) due to injuries.
Despite being shorthanded, the Browns still played a competitive game against the now 4-1 Chargers and led the contest by a score of 42-41 with two minutes remaining. Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert, however, engineered a 6-play, 75-yard game-winning touchdown drive with Cleveland's offense unable to answer after getting the ball back with 1:31 remaining and no timeouts.
With the loss, the Browns fell to 3-2 on the season. They will now return to Cleveland for three consecutive home games beginning with a Week 6 matchup vs. the Arizona Cardinals.