Browns Desmond Bryant to have heart procedure, done for year

The Cleveland Browns have announced through a spokesman that defensive end Desmond Bryant’s first season in Cleveland is over.  The free agent pickup from this past year is being placed on the Non-Football Injury List to get a “minor heart procedure” (easy for anyone else to say) to fix an issue he had been treating with medication.  Bryant would occasionally deal with an irregular heartbeat.

Earlier in the season against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football, Bryant let the game and went to the emergency room due to this exact situation.  The Browns do expect him back next year and able to contribute.

Bryant was one of two big free agent acquisitions the Browns made this offense, both on defense; the other being Paul Kruger.  Bryant might have been one of the more under the radar signings as it did not get a ton of attention as the former Ivy League defensive linemen went from the Oakland Raiders to the Browns.  Bryant has been a big addition to the Browns and really stabilized their defensive line, giving them an impact player up front.  His 11 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 2 tackles for loss do not illustrate the impact, but the team has gotten substantially better with their run defense and Bryant was their best full service defensive lineman as a pass rusher.

Not only is the hope that Bryant comes out of this surgery 100% and gets the issue fixed, but the Browns are hoping that Bryant and the rest of this defense only gets better after their first season in the 3-4 under defensive coordinator Ray Horton.  Another year getting more comfortable as well as those around him, he could get even better.