Browns' Greg Newsome II has surprising take on Ja'Marr Chase absence

The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Cleveland Browns on Monday without Ja’Marr Chase in the lineup. This is probably a good thing from the Browns’ perspective, but at least one of their players does not see it that way.

Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II admitted he was angry that he would not get to face Chase on Monday. That anger apparently stems from an appearance Chase made on “The Pivot” podcast during the offseason, in which he said Browns defensive backs talk the most trash, even though Newsome is not “elite” in Chase’s eyes.

“Oh, I was p---d, for sure,” Newsome said via Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “Yeah, definitely was looking forward to that matchup. Hopefully, he gets well soon, but yeah, I was definitely mad.”

Players want to face the best, especially if they feel they’ve been disrespected by their foes. Of course, Newsome and his fellow defensive backs will still have their hands full with the likes of Tee Higgins, but trying to shut down Chase is definitely one of the tallest tasks a cornerback can face.

Chase suffered a hip injury last week against the Atlanta Falcons. His potential timetable for a return was revealed earlier in the week.