Karl Joseph Signs Contract With Browns, Still Waiting To Complete Physical

Karl Joseph has signed his contract with the Cleveland Browns, but he has not completed a physical. He was the last player the Browns were waiting to sign officially among players they had agreed to deals with during free agency.

Karl Joseph has officially signed his contract with the Cleveland Browns and projects to be the team's starting strong safety in 2020. The deal is worth around $2.5 million, but Joseph has not completed his physical to this point because so many doctors are focused on dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The physical is still to be handled right now with the whole situation going on in the country right now. My agent and the Browns were able to work something out to where we were able to finalize the contract, which I am excited about. We will handle the physical later.” - Karl Joseph

The issue for Joseph is a surgically repaired foot, which needs to be cleared by Browns doctors. Since Joseph signed his contract, he likely did so with the understanding that if anything is wrong with his foot, the team can void the deal. Once they have a physical and the foot is cleared, it will likely default to being treated like any other contract.

Joseph is confident the foot will not be an issue.

“It was a foot injury. It is feeling great. I had surgery back in November. I am close to being back fully healthy now. I am feeling good. I am on the right track. Everything is looking good right now. I had a post-offseason meeting with my surgeon back in February. He said everything was great. We are just working my way back to 100 percent right now.”

The Browns expect Joseph to be able to contribute as their starting strong safety this year, though he has experience playing strong and free. He had to know both playing for the Oakland Raiders last season and that's something new defensive coordinator Joe Woods had to like about Joseph.

“I think the cool thing about playing in the defense I came from in Oakland is I played both. I think some people say I am pretty good at closer to the line, but I take pride in knowing I can do all of it. I think whenever I played strong or free in Oakland, you had to be interchangeable. Sometimes, I played free and sometimes I played strong, but I am pretty comfortable in either position. Wherever coach is going to need me, I am going try my best to deliver.”

Joseph also touched on how he thought he was playing before he suffered the injury last season.

“I think I was definitely starting to gain a lot more confidence. I do not think it was just me. I think it was our team, as well, and the guys around me. We were starting to play real good ball together, and it all was starting to come together. It was not just about me, but I did feel like I was starting to come on my own and get a little bit more confidence out there on the field. It sucked to have my season end like that because I wanted a lot more out of it. We had big goals for the playoffs and everything like that like we spoke about the beginning of the season. Sometimes it does not always work out how you plan it. I am grateful for the opportunity that lies ahead right now. I am grateful to be a part of the Browns, and I am looking forward to it.”