The former USFL defensive player of the year and current Cleveland Browns defensive end Chris Odom will be out for the NFL season with a knee injury.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski told the media that Odom tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in the fourth quarter of their preseason loss to the Chicago Bears last week. The team announced Monday they were placing him on injured reserve.

Odom was signed onto the Browns earlier in the month in the hopes of making the team. He recorded three tackles, one sack, and one tackle for a loss in three games during the preseason. Coach Stefanski was impressed with Odom’s performance throughout training camp and preseason.

“He was doing a really nice job. A very, very good pass rusher, had a knack for it. Did a nice job in practice and had some nice moments in the preseason games.”

Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns Head Coach

Cleveland is not the only team Odom has called home during his NFL season. He was on the Green Bay Packers roster in 2017 and played for Washington in 2019. Odom recorded 16 tackles and two sacks in 11 games played between the two seasons.

The USFL was able to bring in Odom this season where he dominated like no other defensive player in the league. During his season with the Houston Gamblers, he recorded 41 tackles, 12.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, and four field goal blocks in ten games. Odom was able to win the league’s defensive player of the year for his efforts.

It’s a tough injury for Odom who was looking to make the roster for Cleveland and join their rotation on the defensive line. He received praise for his performance during camp for the Browns. It wasn’t know if he was going to make the roster, but did show enough to give himself a shot at being one of the 53 men to play for Cleveland.

What also makes this tough is now it seems unlikely that even if Cleveland were able to part ways with Odom at some point, his return to the USFL would be up in the air. The league would have no problem bringing him back as he was a star for the USFL. One issue that would occur is if he would return on time for the start for the season. It usually takes six to nine months to recover from that type of injuries. Fans can only hope Odom can make a speedy recovery to return to the field soon enough.

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