This season, there have been numerous players listed on injury reports, sidelined from games and in the worst case scenarios placed on injured reserve with soft tissue injuries.
BEREA, Ohio — The 2021 season was not what anyone expected for the Cleveland Browns, with the season kicking off with Super Bowl contender discussions and ending for all intents and purposes a week before their final game when they were eliminated from playoff contention.
The incidence of soft tissue injuries, including calf, hamstring, quadricep and adductor strains, are significantly up during the 2021 preseason compared to 2015-2019. As the NFL continues to use injury data to drive health and safety progress, new efforts are underway to address lower extremity injuries, which remain the highest driver of missed days.
3. Gradually increase volume and intensity- Of your high speed running and position-specific conditioning. Rapid increases significantly increase the risk of a non-contact soft tissue injury. Throughout the season, the Browns have implemented a practice strategy of rest days for players, as well as individual side work with trainers for players working through any kind of playable injury.While the Browns have had a rash of soft tissue injuries this season, it's not yet clear exactly how many, if any, of those injuries could have been prevented with a different approach to training and conditioning.
Tretter said that while there could be things that get adjusted to prevent injuries, that fact remains to be seen for the Browns, and he said sometimes, even when all of the measures are in place to prevent the injuries, they still are unavoidable.