The Cleveland Browns’ rookie tight end, Harold Fannin Jr., is having a breakout season. So much so that Emmanuel Acho has already made a bold claim regarding him following their win over Pittsburgh. 

After his brilliant performance in Week 17, the former linebacker and analyst took to social media and praised him. “Harold Fannin Jr. should be in, if not leading, offensive rookie of the year conversations,” he said.

Fannin Jr. recorded the highest yards per reception average against the Steelers. He scored a touchdown for 30 receiving yards in just 2 catches. The 21-year-old was the only player to record a score in the entire game, which was 28 yards in the first quarter. 

Well, he has shown incredible potential for Cleveland throughout the entire season. In 16 games, Fannin Jr. has scored 6 touchdowns for 731 receiving yards in 72 receptions. His best performance came in Week 14 against the Titans, when he scored a receiving touchdown for 114 yards. 

Despite the Browns ultimately losing the game 31-29, his 35-yard touchdown grabbed everyone’s attention. Unfortunately, he couldn’t finish the game due to a groin injury and is slated to undergo an MRI on Sunday, according to Zac Jackson. It will be intriguing to see whether Fannin Jr. is fully fit to play in Cleveland’s final game of the season. 

Kevin Stefanski gives an injury update on Harold Fannin Jr.

Even though the Cleveland Browns are eliminated from the playoffs, they might miss the services of Harold Fannin Jr. against the Bengals.

He sustained the injury in the first quarter, where he scored a 28-yard touchdown by catching the ball from Shedeur Sanders. The rookie tight end had to adjust his body mid-air to make the grab, and struggled on the ground to get up. 

In fact, he had been dealing with an injury since Friday’s practice and was listed as questionable ahead of the Pittsburgh game. Head coach Kevin Stefanski gave a straightforward update about his status and whether Fannin Jr. would be able to start against the Bengals. 

“Yeah, Nothing. Uh, all are rehabbing, all are progressing. Uh, can’t rule anybody out just yet,” he said. 

Sanders also praised Fannin Jr. for his performance and spoke about his unfortunate injury. “Yeah, we kind of knew going into the game he was banged up. So it wasn't really super surprising. We got great players on the hungry dogs,” He said. 

Let us know in the comments section whether Fannin Jr. will be able to play Cleveland’s last game or not.

Written by

Kalp Thaker

Edited by

Joyita Das