The Cleveland Browns signed rookie receiver Charles Johnson from the Green Bay Packers practice squad last Saturday.
That wouldn’t be all that notable because teams pilfer other team’s practices squads all the time when they have an injury and need to fill a roster spot. This situation was no different.
The Browns put quarterback Brian Hoyer on injured reserve because he tore his ACL. Then they filled that spot with Johnson, who was a seventh-round pick this year.
Totally normal, except…
When the Browns brought Johnson in they discovered he had a torn ACL.
And here’s a guy who had been practicing on a regular basis when he was with the Packers. That begs the question.
What. The. Fuck.
Tom Silverstein retraces Johnson’s ordeal this way.
One possibility that exists is that the right knee injury Johnson suffered on the second day of training camp was worse than anyone imagined. At first there was a thought that it was an IT band tear, but later Johnson said he had sprained his MCL.
It’s very likely the Packers did an MRI on his knee, but it’s possible they didn’t see the tear. Former tackle Mark Tauscher went into surgery once to clean up his knee and the doctors discovered he had partially torn the ACL. He was lost for the rest of the season.
This isn’t the first time the Packers medical staff has misdiagnosed an injury.
Just last season, Greg Jennings sat with a groin injury only to find out later on he had an abdominal tear and needed surgery. Meanwhile, Nick Perry sat with a knee injury and later went on injured reserve with a wrist injury.
Clowns!
So now the question is what happens to Johnson. The Browns hold his rights, but why would they want to pay a guy who was injured while he was with another team?
Well, for the time being, they probably want to probe him about the Packers offense, since they’ll be facing that offense on Sunday. After that, he could well end up getting shipped right back to Green Bay.
What an embarrassment. Again.