5 Cleveland Browns whose stock is down after mini-bye as Steelers await

2. Browns CB Denzel Ward

You hate seeing Denzel Ward on here, but another injury has his stock down. He wasn’t on this last after the Cardinals debacle, despite incurring two brutal defensive pass interference calls.

When he did play, he surrendered three catches for 26 yards and a touchdown. He left the game with a hamstring injury, an ailment that’s plagued him in the past.

Notably, the Browns haven’t extended the former No. 4 overall pick and I’m not sure they will. They just drafted Greg Newsome, who was OK Thursday night. Greedy Williams is also playing decently, and they’re developing A.J. Green.

As a John Dorsey pick, I’m not sure the analytically oriented front office is going to dump a ton of money into a corner who can’t stay healthy and who really isn’t considered elite. Twelve games of Ward per season doesn’t equal $15 million per season.

Ward has never played more than 13 games in a season. He’s managed to play just 12 games in each of the last two seasons.