What to Expect from Cleveland Browns LB Christian Kirksey in 2016

Over the offseason the Cleveland Browns lost some valuable veterans due to free agency. The loss of linebacker Karlos Dansby opened up a fantastic opportunity for a former third-round draft pick in Christian Kirksey to show the team what he’s made of.

Kirksey was drafted in the 2014 NFL draft and has somewhat decent statistics for only being in the league for 2 years. He has registered 144 total tackles, earned 5.5 sacks, and forced two fumbles. The Browns are looking for Kirksey to step up to the plate in 2016 and his solid performances in 2015 may just make him a player to watch this season.

The excitement from Kirksey has been seen all over social media these last few days. The Iowa State product tweeted at Browns cornerback Joe Haden and seemed quite fired up about the start of the 2016 season.

@joehaden23 Aye 23 u ready for the season homie?? Let’s get it Fam!! ??#gobrowns#mybro

— Christian Kirksey (@chriskirksey20) July 15, 2016

Watch out offensive players because Haden and Kirksey are ready to hit some athletes this season.

U already know young KIRKO!!! We wit them HITs! ????https://t.co/vXJFMSs4rQ

— Joe Haden (@joehaden23) July 15, 2016

This exchange on twitter should give Browns fans some excitement for the beginning of the new season. The Browns once again have a new coaching regime but this time it looks promising. The team acquired Hue Jackson, the former offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals, to be the team’s head coach. Jackson has a career 8 wins and 8 losses when being a head coach in the NFL. He hopes that the positive energy that is being displayed and the passion of the players can ignite this team to win some games this season.

A good question to ask yourself is… How can the Browns overcome key veteran losses and win football games in 2016? Well its simple… Younger players will have to step up and a key athlete to watch is Christian Kirksey.

The loss of Karlos Dansby was crucial for this organization. He was the teams leader in sacks just a year ago and now is a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. Kirksey hopes that his career 144 tackles can only increase as he takes on a larger role as a starter this upcoming season.

He talked about the opportunity he is being presented and how the positive energy will fuel this team.

With this whole coaching staff change, it’s been nothing but positive energy throughout the whole building, Kirksey said. They bring a lot of knowledge to the game, a lot of knowledge to us younger players. We can learn a lot from them.

With the departure of Karlos Dansby, in my mind, I’m really telling myself to step up. I know a lot of the coaches are telling me to step up. Nothing is written in stone, so you just always gotta keep working, just keep working like you’re a rookie and you’re trying to earn a spot and that’s my whole mentality. That’s my whole mindset is to keep paving the way and keep trying to bring this team wins.

After a terrific 2015 campaign in which he registered 53 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 2 force fumbles, Kirksey hopes to build on a solid year and win some football games in 2016.