Cleveland Browns running back Dylan Sampson didn’t last long in the Week 1 game, suffering a knee injury in the first quarter in an ugly 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars to begin the regular season.
Sampson was off to a good start, at least in terms of special teams, recording to kickoff returns for 64 yards. He didn’t have a rushing attempt, nor was he targeted in the passing game. Now, he will be forced to miss at least one month due to his knee injury.
Dylan Sampson Lands on Reserve/Injured List
Browns first-year head coach Todd Monken said Monday that there would be an update Wednesday about the source and severity of Sampson’s injury, but apparently that timeline was sped up. On Tuesday, the team placed Sampson on the reserve/injured list on Tuesday, and he is reportedly expected to miss “significant time”, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
After the Week 1 game, Sampson was seen on crutches following the blowout loss in Jacksonville. He started the season as the primary backup to running back Quinshon Judkins, but that role quickly fell into the lap of Raheim Sanders, who made the 53-man roster as the third tailback.
Sanders rushed just one time for one yard in Week 1, but he did absorb all three of his targets for 25 receiving yards, while adding three kickoff returns for 130 yards, including a 74-yard return in the third quarter which set up the team’s first score of the season, a field goal.
Jaleel McLaughlin Promoted to Active Roster
Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Browns promoted running back Jaleel McLaughlin from the practice squad to the 53-man roster ahead of the Week 2 game at Tampa Bay, taking the spot of Sampson on the active roster.
The veteran McLaughlin was one of the better practice squad signings in the entire NFL after being a surprise cut by the Denver Broncos in late August.
McLaughlin has racked up 1,093 rushing yards and three touchdowns across 41 NFL games, all for the Broncos. The 26-year-old undrafted free-agent from Youngstown State also has 59 receptions for 263 yards and four touchdowns across three NFL seasons, so he’ll essentially replace Sanders as the third-down back, giving quarterback Deshaun Watson a dependable set of hands out of the backfield as a safety valve.
In 41 NFL games, he has just one lost fumble, too, and that came on a reception. He has just one kickoff return for 28 yards in three seasons, so the Browns will need to work someone out this week in the role, with perhaps Sanders having earned that role after his solid Week 1 work.
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