BEREA, Ohio — Injuries are the worst part of training camp. Unfortunately, even minor injuries can alter the trajectory for many players at this time of year, as players fight to earn spots on the team.
That's the case for Mentor native and former Kent State Golden Flash Luke Floriea, who sustained an injury in the first preseason game that has paused his time with the Browns.
Floriea began his NFL journey this spring, invited as an undrafted free agent tryout during rookie minicamp. Floriea got himself open often, making plays with the rookie quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. His tryout went so well, the Browns decided to sign Floriea to the training camp roster.
Over the past several weeks, Floriea has thrived, making standout plays and doing his job well, allowing the quarterbacks to focus on theirs amid the four-person quarterback battle. His first game action followed suit, and Floriea was able to make a highlight play against the Panthers.
Catching a pass from Sanders, Floriea extended his arm and snagged the ball with one hand along the sideline, moving the chains 30 yards for the first down. Unfortunately, on that play, Floriea limped on the sideline holding his leg. He was quickly evaluated in the blue medical tent, and then trainers worked on stretching out his leg on the sideline. After the one-handed catch and injury, Floriea was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a hamstring injury.
While there was hope the hamstring injury was only minor, on Monday before practice, head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked about it with an ominous answer.
"[It's] serious. We’ll update you guys on Luke later,” Stefanski said.
A few moments later, the Browns announced a series of roster moves that included waiving Floriea with an injury designation.
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The news of Floriea's injury came with plenty of disappointment from his teammates, who have been impressed by Floriea all throughout the Spring and summer.
"It's just the unfortunate part of this. I feel like Luke is my brother forever at this point. We went through camp together. I feel like I knew him forever. Ultimate competitor, great football player," said fellow rookie wide receiver Gage Larvadain.
Veteran receiver Jerry Jeudy also expressed his disappointment for Floriea upon hearing the news.
"Yeah, that sucks man. Luke been out here grinding and doing his thing ever since he stepped foot out here, so it’s kind of frustrating him dealing with that but Luke’s a baller so he’s going attack his workout, make sure he comes back healthy and do his thing," Jeudy said.
Floriea will be focused on his health for now, getting back up and ready to go. And while he might be away from the team for now, his journey with the Browns—one he dreamed of his whole life as a Northeast Ohio native—may not be done just yet. v
The Browns could choose to bring Floriea back to the team once he's healthy, perhaps on the practice squad with the regular season approaching. That remains to be seen, but there's a strong contingent of Browns fans who have loved watching the local rookie's journey and would undoubtedly love to see it continue in Cleveland.
