Of the many rookies who have gotten extended playing time for the Browns this season, one whose extended run has been a bit surprising is undrafted receiver and return man Gage Larvadain. He made a name for himself in Sunday’s 26-8 loss to the 49ers, though not in a way he was looking to–Larvadain fumbled three times in the return game, an almost impossible thing to do, even on a windy day in Cleveland.
Larvadain muffed one punt that gave San Francisco the ball on the Cleveland 18-yard line, helping to set up a touchdown. He managed to recover the two others. Still, the performance did not invite much confidence from observers and fans, many of whom expressed a desire to cut Larvadain on the spot.
The Browns obviously did not do that. As things stand, Larvadain now has 16 punt returns, with 142 yards, or 8.9 per try.
Stefanski ‘Has Faith’ in Gage Larvadain
Given the obvious problems that Larvadain was having with the wind on Sunday, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was asked whether he considered replacing Larvadain at any point in the 49ers loss. He was steadfast.
Said Stefanski: “Gage is a young player that I have faith in, I trust. He’s been very dependable this season. He’s played in some – some of the conditions that we’ve had down there in previous games have been tough. Obviously, the muff, those are one of the easy ones that he just didn’t make in this game, but I trust him.
“The other time, one of our players bumped into him, and then he needs to secure the ball on that third one, like you mentioned. But this is a young player that I feel that he is getting better throughout this season. We trust him. He’ll keep working, and that’s all it is.”
Browns Lacking PR Options
Now, it should be said that the Browns and Stefanski do not have many other great options on hand. DeAndre Carter had the punt-return job earlier this season, but he is on injured reserve. Isaiah Bond is the only other player to return punts this year, and he brought back two for just nine yards.
And credit to Larvadain: After the game he met with reporters and faced the music.
“It hurts because it keeps like the world is kind of crushing down on you,” he said. “Because, this is what we do for a living. You just gotta be better, prepare to be better. Our defense rallied out there, do what they do. But you really feel bad because you put them in the situation, to put them in a position to not make their jobs harder. I don’t feel bad for myself when something like that happens, I feel bad for my team.”
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