Grant Delpit says he’s on track to be fully healthy by training camp
Grant Delpit expects to be healthy for Browns training camp in his long comeback attempt from the ruptured right Achilles tendon he suffered last Aug. 24 during practice.
Speaking to Browns beat writers Wednesday for the first time since the non-contact injury occurred, the safety drafted in the second round (No. 44 overall) last year out of Louisiana State University expressed optimism he’ll be ready to return to action when camp kicks off in late July.
“It feels good, better every day. It’s a long process, a long journey, to get fully back healthy,” Delpit said via Zoom. “But the plan is to be fully healthy by training camp, so I’m on track for that.”
Delpit, 22, isn’t among the Browns players who are participating in voluntary workouts this week at team headquarters in Berea, but he has been tirelessly grinding to regain his form. He said he began to feel like himself again in late March, when he ran 18 mph on a treadmill in Florida.
“That was a good moment for me,” Delpit said. “I was just working the kinks out and getting back in cleats and doing all that stuff.”
Delpit has been training at House of Athlete in Weston, Fla., where wide receiver Jarvis Landry and other Browns players also work out. Delpit has been sprinting and cutting.
“On the back end of my rehab now, just trying to get rid of that annoying pain,” Delpit said. “So it’s coming along, and I should be ready by training camp. It’s a crazy injury. It’s crazy how it happened, but I’m glad that it happened, I guess, while I’m young, so I could still have my whole career ahead of me.”
Ruptured or torn Achilles tendons require surgery and can be devastating for athletes. According to research published in 2017 in Foot & Ankle International, the official journal of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society, 72.4% of players examined in a study were able to return from such surgeries and play in the NFL.
“It’s an eye-opening experience,” Delpit said.
The Browns, though, have been bullish about Delpit’s journey on the comeback trail.
“He looks great. He’s coming along,” coach Kevin Stefanski said March 2, when he saw Delpit rehabilitating at team headquarters.
Although the injury robbed Delpit of his first NFL season, he insisted he doesn’t consider himself a rookie because he studied the game so much last year. Watching the Browns go 12-6, including 1-1 in the playoffs, gave him a bittersweet feeling.
“Some of the most difficult moments was just seeing our success and how I wasn’t playing,” he said.
Delpit said the Browns, trainers, coaches and family helped him throughout the past year.
“I keep my mind very positive at all times,” Delpit said. “I just try to focus on the positives, not be stuck in the negative, what happened to me. I always focus on how I can get better and what’s next. When you focus on negative things, you can get down. I could have easily been depressed and all that, but I stayed positive.”
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Delpit also had the support of two Browns teammates who went to LSU and suffered major injuries in 2020: cornerback Greedy Williams and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Like Delpit, Williams missed the entire 2020 season. Williams suffered nerve damage in a shoulder during the same practice in which Delpit was carted off the field. Beckham suffered a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee Oct. 25 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“It was cool to be able to rehab [with Williams],” Delpit said. “You never want to be in that position, [but we kept] pushing each other to get better every day. He went through some hard, crazy stuff, just as I did. Same with [Beckham]. I know O is going to come back ready. Hopefully we can all stay healthy and the sky’s the limit.”
Defensive coordinator Joe Woods had big plans for Delpit last season. Woods envisioned the versatile defensive back as a vital cog in the dime package he hoped to run a substantial amount. Without Delpit, Woods barely used dime.
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Now Woods is eager to have the package at his disposal again. Delpit, 2021 blockbuster free-agent pickup John Johnson III and 2020 trade acquisition Ronnie Harrison form a safety trio with tremendous potential. Delpit said the defense is being installed in virtual meetings between players and coaches, so he’s discovering more about how Woods will deploy the safeties.
“Learning from guys like John and Ronnie and playing alongside of them, it’s going to be great,” Delpit said. “We’re all playmakers. We know what John can do and what Ronnie can do, and it’s time for me to see what I can do. Hopefully we all pitch in and do our part to win. That is the plan.
“Safety is probably one of the biggest roles on any defense. Just having the things like we do, where we could rotate, three, two [safeties], it’s going to be great for us to have versatility, show different looks and all that Coach Woods has in place. I’m excited to get on the field.”
Delpit said he has high expectations for himself and the Browns, whose defense has been revamped this offseason by General Manager Andrew Berry.
“Everything we do is to win,” Delpit said. “AB and the coaches put all of the right pieces together. … We have the pieces. It’s just time to work.”
KhaDarel Hodge is officially under contract for 2021
On Wednesday, wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge signed the restricted free-agent tender the Browns placed on him in March, a person familiar with the situation confirmed.
Hodge announced the contractual development by posting photographs on Instagram of him signing paperwork at Browns headquarters.
Hodge is now under contract for 2021 at a salary of $2.133 million. He’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next March.
Hodge entered last season as the team’s No. 3 wide receiver and played a key role on special teams. He dealt with two hamstring injuries and had 11 catches for 180 yards in nine regular-season games.
Baker Mayfield, Myles Garrett join lineup for Jarvis Landry’s softball game
Quarterback Baker Mayfield and defensive end Myles Garrett are scheduled to participate in the Jarvis Landry celebrity softball game on June 12 at Classic Park in Eastlake, event organizers announced Wednesday on social media.
Tickets and more information can be found at jarvislandrysoftball.com.
Austin Hooper, David Njoku enroll with Tight End University
Austin Hooper and David Njoku are set to participate in a summit for tight ends June 23-25 in Nashville. The summit has been organized by George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers, Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and Greg Olsen, who retired from the NFL earlier this year. The summit known as Tight End University announced Hooper and Njoku’s commitments on social media.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at [email protected].
