Injury co-mingled with insult when Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita broke his right hand in a 23-20 loss to the division rival Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 on Sunday. Instead of moving within a game of their in-state foe, the Browns fell to 4-7 while the Bengals moved to 7-4.
And the hits keep coming. Now Scott Fujita is tabbed to have surgery this week on his broken right hand, and it is possible that he will miss the remainder of the season.
Coach Pat Shurmur has indicated that Chris Gocong will now move to strong-side linebacker and Kaluka Maiava will fill in for Gocong at weak-side linebacker, but fellow linebacker D'Qwell Jackson said Fujita's absence will be a difficult one to overcome.
"It’s huge," Jackson said. "He’s a veteran guy who controls his side of the defense. We work well together out there, but we have to move forward. We’re not gonna be able to replace him but we’ve got guys that are capable of making plays. That’s a part of the game. Guys get hurt, especially in our room.
"It’s a big loss for us You can’t replace him. He makes a ton of plays. He helps me out. We see things. We have the luxury of changing some things if we see it. I’ve got to step up my preparation a bit. Everyone has to step up a little bit better, so we can try to move forward and not see a major drop off."
Fujita, in the middle of a 3-year, $14 million contract with the Browns, has recorded 51 tackles along with an interception this season.