Famed former Notre Dame football star Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah's career appears to be over. A report surfaced over the weekend claiming that the defensive stud's return to the football field after a catastrophic neck injury in the 2024 season is extremely unlikely.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com was the first to report that the prognosis is not good. She quotes Cleveland Browns officials who said Owusu-Koramoah "is doubtful at best to ever make it back to the playing field."
The news is not totally surprising; the former Notre Dame great suffered a neck injury in a violent collision with Ravens running back Derrick Henry on October 27, 2024. The Browns star was immobilized on a board, carted off, and taken to University Hospitals for overnight observation.
Jeremiah Owusu‑Koramoah’s NFL future in doubt as Notre Dame football great receives update
Fortunately for Owusu-Koramoah and the Browns, he had feeling in all of his extremities when he was transported via ambulance to the hospital. But the injury was serious enough to threaten his career.
Last May, Cleveland announced that Owusu-Koramoah was sitting out the entire 2025 season in order to try to eventually get back. However, as the calendar ticks towards offseason camps and having to make the same kind of decision, it doesn't appear the man lovingly referred to as JOK will ever play again.
When the Browns announced they were shutting JOK down, he took to social media in a hint that he knew his NFL career was in jeopardy. He posted then that he didn't "know what’s next, but I’ll continue trusting my medical team, serving the community, and backing my brothers on the field."
After playing with Notre Dame from 2018 to 2020, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft and played in 14 games in his rookie season. That year, he racked up 76 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 4 passes defended. His best season was in 2023 when he tallied 101 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 2 interceptions. That makes his 2024 injury and the seeming end of his career even more heartbreaking.