Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

NFL Pro Bowler Sends Message After Career-Ending Report

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Will Chesanek | Last updated Feb 23, 2026 5:47 PM ET

Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns had a disappointing 2025 NFL regular season. Not only did the Browns finish the regular season last in the AFC North with a 5-12 record, but they were also without the services of their star linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. The former Pro Bowler missed the entire 2025 season due to a neck injury he suffered in a collision with Derrick Henry on October 27, 2024.

After Owusu-Koramoah was selected with the No. 52 pick in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the former Notre Dame Fighting Irish star made an immediate impact for the Browns. He played in 14 games in his rookie season and was selected to the All-Rookie team. And in 2023, the former Butkus award winner fully translated his talents to the NFL, finishing the season with over 100 tackles, 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and two interceptions, earning his first and only Pro Bowl.

Cleveland Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

But the former college football consensus All-American was off to another strong start in the 2024 season before suffering a season-ending neck injury against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8 of the regular season. Owusu-Koramoah not only missed the rest of that 2024 season, but he was also sidelined for the entire 2025 NFL Season.

Even with the long break from football due to the injury recovery, the Browns organization and fans had high hopes that the star linebacker would return for the 2026 season. That is, until Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot released a report on Saturday, noting that it is "doubtful" that Owusu-Koramoah will ever return to the field.

"Owusu-Koramoah, who suffered a serious neck injury in a violent collision with Ravens running back Derrick Henry on Oct. 27, 2024, is doubtful at best to ever make it back to the playing field, a league source tells cleveland.com," Cabot wrote.

The news ripped through the media ecosystem, eliciting reaction from around the league. One of the people who responded to the report was Owusu-Koramoah himself. The linebacker took notice of Cabot’s report and appears to be offering a different perspective on his premature retirement announcement.

“Someone catching me up on the news?” Owusu-Koramoah wrote on his Instagram Story.

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah on the news drop from @MaryKayCabot last night suggesting his playing career was possibly over…

(: @j_owuu IG)#DawgPound pic.twitter.com/w2SrHqzrDg
— SleeperBrowns (@SleeperBrowns) February 22, 2026

If the Browns are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the 2026 NFL season, they will potentially need Owusu-Koramoah healthy and on the roster. The star linebacker is offering hope for Browns fans amid the reports of his early retirement.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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