Schwesinger Is Questionable. The Linebacker Room Has No Margin for That.

Carson Schwesinger is listed as questionable with an ankle injury, and at a position where Cleveland already has almost nothing behind its starters, that designation carries more weight than it normally would. Schwesinger put together a substantial 2025 season — 156 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions across 16 games — and has been one of the few reliable defensive constants on a unit that has been rebuilt around him all year.

The depth chart tells the story plainly. Quincy Williams handles the bulk of the linebacker snaps, with Krys Barnes well behind him in production. There is no third linebacker with meaningful playing time on record. That is a thin rotation in good health; with Schwesinger's status uncertain, it becomes a genuine problem.

This has been the linebacker situation all season. The position flagged as a high need heading into 2026, and nothing that has happened since has changed that math. The front office spent its offseason capital shoring up the secondary and scrambling to replace Myles Garrett's production on the defensive line. The linebacker room never got the same attention, and now the one player who has actually produced there is day-to-day with an ankle.