Tony

Fields II

Stefanski didn’t say how much time Fileds would miss but he did note that the injury was not in the foot that Fields injured during rookie camp. That’s two separate foot injuries for Fields before his first preseason snap. The West Virginia product was productive in college and tested well athletically. If Fields can get healthy before the start of the season he will have a solid shot at cracking Cleveland’s final roster.

Coach Kevin Stefanski said it’s “not a long-term injury.” Fields doesn’t need surgery, but he’ll be moved slowly. The rookie fifth-rounder should be 100 percent for training camp.

Tony Fields II (6’0/222) was a three-star prospect who enrolled at Arizona and proceeded to take the Pac-12 by storm, registering 104 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 5.0 sacks and an interception en route to being named a Freshman All-American in his first year on campus. He didn’t stop there either, posting 183 tackles and 9.5 TFL over the next two seasons before transferring to West Virginia as a graduate last year. The transfer didn’t slow him down at all, as Fields II led the Mountaineers in tackles while being named first-team All-Big 12 in addition to Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year. He ran a strong 4.63 40-yard dash (85th percentile) but his 17 bench reps (38th percentile) and 4.48 shuttle run (29th) brought his Relative Athletic Score to a mediocre 4.92 rating. Fields II displays advanced play recognition paired in all facets of the game, be it tracking down running backs on the outside or dropping into zone coverage. He breaks down well and shows advanced anticipation skills. His lack of heft works against him in traffic and he’s more cerebral than aggressive at times, which is a problem given his already small stature. Fields needs to add more strength in order to get off blocks at the NFL level. The ultra-productive linebacker has the skills to work his way into an NFL linebacker corps if he can improve his play strength. His physical traits and instinctive play are reminiscent of Jermaine Carter Jr. Linebacker was one spot that the Browns needed to address in the draft but they chose to add players at more impactful positions first. Fields will get the chance to bulk up his frame while playing a reserve role as a rookie and offers the unit a solid depth option for 2021.