The mood shifted quickly at Cleveland Browns’ training camp in Berea on Tuesday afternoon.

One minute, the Browns were taking part in a 7-on-7 drill. The next, one of Cleveland’s starters was on the ground in pain, surrounded by his teammates, with a cart coming out to take him off the field.

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It was cornerback Martin Emerson on the ground with what Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot deemed a “very painful left leg injury” that “he knew right away it was bad.”

The Athletic’s Zac Jackson added: “The whole area has gone silent.”

Emerson was projected to be one of the Browns’ starting cornerbacks out wide this season, opposite Denzel Ward.

Options behind Emerson include nickel corner Greg Newsome along with the likes of Cameron Mitchell and Tony Brown II.

Emerson was a third-round pick by the Browns in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Mississippi State.

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He only started six of the 17 games he played in as a rookie, although Emerson did put up 63 tackles that season.

In 2023, he started 12 of the 16 games he was healthy for. Emerson recorded all four of his career interceptions in that campaign, and he also had 59 tackles.

In 2024, Emerson started in 15 of the Browns’ 17 games. He made a career-high 80 tackles.

Opposite Ward, Emerson always has been called into action frequently. That’ll likely be even more true for whatever down-the-depth-chart option steps in for Emerson for however long he may be out.

The Browns had one tough-looking injury earlier in training camp to receiver Cedric Tillman, but that turned out not to be serious at all.

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It’s tough to believe Cleveland will dodge the huge-injury bug twice in a week.

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