58 Christian Kirksey OLB

Kirskey tallied nine tackles to go along with his first sack of the season in Sunday's loss to the Ravens.

Kirksey improved on a modest five tackle (two solo) performance in Week 1. The 25-year-old did his best impression of teammate Joe Thomas, who reached a remarkable milestone of 10,000 straight snaps, as he did not miss any of the 68 defensive plays. He will look to keep producing in a favorable Week 3 matchup against the Colts.

Kirksey (leg) returned to practice Monday after being injured during last week's scrimmage, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Kirksey left Cleveland's Aug. 4 scrimmage after just three plays but looks to be healthy again after returning to practice. He is expected to start at linebacker alongside Jamie Collins and Tank Carder.

Kirksey limped off the field during Friday's scrimmage with an apparent leg injury, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Kirksey went down just three plays in to Cleveland's intersquad scrimmage. According to the report, he was surrounded by the medical staff before limping off with the help of a trainer. Kirksey led the team with 148 total tackles in 2017 and figures to play a similar role this season, if healthy.

Kirksey signed a four-year, $38 million contract extension ($20 million guaranteed) with the Browns on Tuesday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports.

Kirksey will be a cemented piece of the Browns' linebacker corps after racking up 148 tackles (96 solo), 2.5 sacks and three passes defensed in 16 games during the 2016 season, his third year in the league. It was reported last week that Kirksey is slated to move from inside to outside linebacker in 2017, as the Browns switch from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defensive scheme. The team also signed fellow outside linebacker Jamie Collins to a four-year extension in January, so the Browns will be set at the position for multiple years to come.

Kirksey is expected to move from inside to outside linebacker in 2017, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports.

Kirksey was prolific as a middle linebacker in 2016, recording a career-high 148 tackles. With the Browns switching from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 setup in 2017, Kirksey will have to adjust to a different spot on the field, but he'll still be tasked with helping snuff out the run game. The shift shouldn't prove too difficult for the fourth-year linebacker, but it could result in him seeing a slight dip in tackles from a season earlier.