Jordan Akins, D'Anthony Bell among Cleveland Browns prepared to replace injured teammates

BEREA — Jordan Akins is going to get his chance Sunday for the Browns . It may not have happened the way the tight end wanted it to happen, but it's going to happen.

Akins finds himself as the only healthy tight end on the 53-man Browns roster. That's because David Njoku has already been ruled out of Sunday's game at the Jacksonville Jaguars because an ankle injury sustained in the season opener.

Akins will certainly have some help at tight end at some point. One of the three tight ends on the practice squad — Geoff Swaim, Cameron Latu and Blake Whitehurst — will likely be elevated on game day.

Still, the show's mostly going to belong to Akins. The seventh-year pro said he is looking forward to the chance.

"I guess it's a huge opportunity for me to just step up and showcase what I can do," Akins told the Beacon Journal Wednesday, "Just let him know that I can fill the spot and they can depend on me just like we depend on Dave."

That's the kind of attitude the Browns received from a number of players a year ago when they dealt with one injury after another. It's what helped them overcome so many of those key absences to still go 11-6 in the regular season and make the playoffs.

The Browns have played all of one game this season and it's already taking on an all-hands-on-deck feel. That was evident on Wednesday when, beyond the news of Njoku, they also placed four players on injured reserve.

Those four players were starters safety Juan Thornhill (calf) and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst II (ankle) and key reserve linebackers Tony Fields II (ankle) and Mohamoud Diabate (hip flexor).

That's where players like safety D'Anthony Bell come into the picture. It's much like he came into the picture a year ago, when Thornhill also dealt with a calf injury.

"It does help because we've been through it," Bell told the Beacon Journal. "So all the guys that are now starting to rotate in like me and Rocket (safety Ronnie Hickman), you know what I'm saying? We've done this before and we've all played together before. So there's no loss [of] chemistry or no loss [of] communication between any of the guys that's out there on the field together."

The advantage, if the Browns want to call it that, is that three of the four players who went on IR Wednesday also either battled injuries last season or during training camp. Thornhill and Hurst were both injured for most of December, with Hurst ending up finished for the season with a torn pectoral muscle in a Week 14 win over Jacksonville.

Fields wasn't hampered by injury a year ago. However, much of his training camp was limited because of a leg injury.

Regardless of the level of experience of the players behind the injured ones, the expectations won't be different. They may even be heightened because of the previous experience.

"I'm definitely a lot more confident," Bell said. "Being your second year in the same defense, this is my first time having the same defense for a consecutive year. So definitely very confident because I'm more comfortable in the defense and as far as well more confident playing with the guys that are out there. So I feel like it's the same thing."

Akins finds himself in a little different situation that Bell, or Hickman, for that matter. While the two safeties were thrown into the fire as starters over the final three or four weeks because of injury, he was behind Pro Bowler Njoku, who rarely came off the field a year ago.

It's not as if Akins has no NFL experience. He averaged more than 426 offensive snaps a year over five seasons with the Houston Texans, while catching 151 passes for 1,755 yards and eight touchdowns.

Akins played 57% of the Browns' 70 offensive snaps against the Cowboys, with three catches for 27 yards. Couple those snaps with the many he received over the course of training camp, especially a week-and-a-half stretch when Njoku was sidelined, and it has him ready for his big chance.

"It helps a lot, especially since I'm used to the terminology and used to the offense and how it flows," Akins said. "It helps me out a lot. So instead of just focusing on one position, I can just move around and help wherever I can."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jordan Akins, D'Anthony Bell among Cleveland Browns prepared to replace injured teammates