CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns will be without three running backs Sunday at New England.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski revealed Friday that Nick Chubb, Demetric Felton and John Kelly Jr. will not be available against the Patriots.
“We have plenty of guys, and we will be able to run our offense,” Stefanski said.
All three were placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list earlier this week.
With the three sidelined, D’Ernest Johnson will be asked to carry the load in the backfield in their place.
“We have talked about him over the course of the last few games, and he showed in that Denver game where he had to carry the load and did a nice job,” Stefanski said. “Our expectations for that room do not change.”
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Chubb ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns, including a 70-yard run, in last week’s 41-16 win over the Bengals in Cincinnati.
In Week 7, Johnson carried 22 times for 146 yards and a score in a 17-14 win over the Broncos in place of Chubb and Kareem Hunt, who were both sidelined with injuries.
“I think it is really any position you can look at and say you are going to get into your depth at some point in the season because that is the nature of this beast,” Stefanski said. “It is the next man up mentality. The guys have proven to do that over the course of this season and last season. Whoever is available to us, that is who we will use.”
Stefanski declined to say who will serve as the No. 2 back against the Patriots.
“Obviously, we have to have contingency plans,” Stefanski said. “We will have a backup, and we will have some different guys who can play that role, but we will talk as a staff and what we think is the right approach and make sure that we use the guys and are smart about it.”