CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Tight end Austin Hooper participated in practice Wednesday for the first time since undergoing an appendectomy on Oct. 23.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday he expected Hooper to play against the Texans Nov. 15 after missing the previous two games.
Hooper ranks third on the team in catches with 22 and in receiving yardage with 205. He’s scored once.
The Browns signed Hooper to a four-year, $44 million contract as a free agent in March.
No Deal – Browns executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry kicked the tires prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline on a couple of potential deals, but nothing materialized.
“We did explore a number of different possible transactions,” Berry aid Wednesday. “I would say maybe a couple of things got perhaps within striking distance but either moved away from us or we moved away from it for various reasons. We are really happy with the team that we have in place, and we are looking forward to the next eight games.”
Berry also explained the lack of major activity on Tuesday leaguewide.
“I think No. 1, there were just in general fewer sellers this year than past years,” Berry said. “I think a big part of that is just the addition of the seventh playoff spot in bother conferences where you will have more teams actually in the mix for the playoffs. I think really the second piece of that… with the uncertainly of the salary cap entering 2021, it does make certain transactions and certain trades a lot more difficult for teams across the league.
“To us specifically, we did explore a number of potential transactions. At the end of the day, we want to make sure it is the right match for us. Then for whatever reason, we did not necessarily feel any of those deals fit with what we were trying to do on the roster, and we feel really good about the guys we have on hand entering the second half of the season.”
Garrett and Landry idle – Defensive end Myles Garrett and receiver Jarvis Landry were among the player who did not practice.
Garrett suffered a knee injury Sunday against the Raiders, but an MRI revealed no significant structural damage. Garrett, who has nine sacks this season, has also been playing through a right hand or wrist injury as well as sore ankle.
Landry has been playing with a broken rib suffered in an Oct. 11 win over the Colts.
Roll call – Left guard Joel Bitonio, right guard Wyatt Teller, linebacker Jacob Phillips and fullback Andy Janovich also did not practice Wednesday.
Teller has been sidelined with a calf strain and Phillips a knee injury, both suffered Oct. 11.
Janovich was the only player not on the field for the workout.
