Browns safety Jordan Poyer had to be taken to the hospital after getting injured in last Sunday’s loss to the Titans and wound up spending the night after being diagnosed with a lacerated kidney.
On Monday, Browns coach Hue Jackson said that Poyer wanted to return to the team but that he didn’t yet know whether that was going to be a possibility this season.
“He wants to be back with his teammates, battling with those guys,” Jackson said, via the Akron Beacon Journal. “Like most of our players do, they feel like when they’re not around these guys like they’re letting them down. He’s not. He took a major hit. Obviously that’s going to take some time for him to heal.”
It looks like a return will be unlikely. The Browns placed Poyer on injured reserve Tuesday, which means he’ll miss at least eight weeks while recovering. He could return for the last handful of games, but that may be a long shot given the severity of the injury. Poyer started all six games for the Browns this year and had 39 tackles.
The Browns promoted defensive back Ed Reynolds from the practice squad to fill Poyer’s roster spot. He was a fifth-round pick of the Eagles in 2014 and spent his rookie season on the practice squad before recording 21 tackles and an interception in six games last season. He signed to the Browns practice squad after being cut by the Eagles in early September.