The crazy off-season in Cleveland continued Wednesday morning as bad news struck in Berea. Cleveland Browns linebacker Mychal Kendricks was charged with insider trading. Both the NFL, the Browns, and Kendricks released statements on the incident shortly after the original news broke.
The team statement expressed that the organization is aware of the charges against Kendricks. The statement also acknowledged that the linebacker will not travel to the team for its final preseason game.
Our statement on LB Mychal Kendricks: pic.twitter.com/SJT4RPdo0o
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 29, 2018
Cleveland Browns Linebacker Mychal Kendricks Charged With Insider Trading
In his personal statement, Kendricks took responsibility for the interactions that led to the charges. The former Philadelphia Eagle stated, “While I didn’t fully understand all of the details of the illegal trades, I knew it was wrong, and I wholeheartedly regret my actions.” To that note, Kendricks also commented that he is committed to repaying the funds and accepting the consequences for his involvement in the trading.
The Impact in Cleveland
The charges could deal a substantial blow to the Browns defense. If the Browns keep Kendricks inactive during the handling of the case the linebacker could miss several games. The absence would at the very least cause a depth problem at the position. The Browns will remain one injury away from a massive problem at linebacker until Kendricks returns.
The Browns organization does not look great in the situation. The charges against Kendricks continued an off-season of off-field dilemmas. Star wide receiver Josh Gordon missed camp time for various personal reasons. Fourth-round pick Antonio Callaway was recently cited for marijuana possession.
The Gordon situation was more of a distraction than it was a problem. The Callaway citation, too, would have been relatively meaningless on its own. That said, the two recent occurrences plus the events involving Kendricks earlier today come together to represent a trend than the Browns brass needs to stop immediately.
The only real winner of the Kendricks insider trading charges is outside linebacker Jamie Collins. An impressive pre-season from Kendricks had left Collins looking like the odd man out with the linebackers. Collins now holds a guaranteed starting spot until Kendricks returns.
