CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Browns reserve offensive lineman Chris Hubbard will miss “significant time” after suffering a knee injury on Cleveland’s opening offensive series Sunday night according to head coach Kevin Stefanski.
It appears that Hubbard will miss the remainder of the season.
“We will see. I am not ready to go that far, but he will be out this week,” Stefanski said.
NFL Network reported that Hubbard will undergo surgery this week to repair torn ligaments after also sustaining a dislocated kneecap.
Stefanski declined to confirm or comment on the report or the specifics of Hubbard’s injury Monday afternoon.
“I will wait to give a complete update, but like I said before, significant time,” Stefanski said. “I should mention Hub has given us great reps – not good reps, great reps – as a versatile player. He is an outstanding teammate.
“We will miss him in the time that he misses, but in terms of the whole picture of the injury, I will wait to put out something official.”
Hubbard started in place of Wyatt Teller, who is sidelined with an ankle injury, at right guard against the Giants.
Stefanski indicated that it is unlikely that Teller will not return this week against the Jets meaning rookie Nick Harris will continue to fill in after replacing Hubbard Sunday night.
“It was good to get back on the field and play in a football game,” Harris said Monday. “I have not played an actual game in a while so it felt good to get out there, run around and just try and play my brand of football. I think I did OK. There is a lot to clean up. I want to be the best. I will watch the film and see where I can get better and see where I can help the team, and just go from there. All in all, it was a great experience for the first game.”
Safety Dance – Karl joseph played arguably his best game as a Brown Sunday night.
Joseph led the Browns with 10 tackles, including a tackle for loss. He also broke up a pair of passes in the 20-6 win.
“Hopefully, it is not my best game as a Brown,” Joseph said. “My focus and goal is always to continue to get better every week and keep raising the bar for myself and for our team. Hopefully, it is not. I thought I made some plays to help our team win. We walked away with a win, and that is what is most important.”
Pro Bowling – The NFL will announce the 2020 Pro Bowl rosters Monday night.
Three Browns led fan voting this year – fullback Andy Janovich, left guard Joel Bitonio and defensive end Myles Garrett the league announced Monday morning.
“I want our guys to have individual success. I want the accolades for all of them,” Stefanski said. “I know we have plenty of guys that are deserving, but at the end of the day, I think those guys understand that those individual accolades really are a reflection of their teammates of this team. Ultimately, that is what we are about here, but it does not mean I do not hope for our guys to be recognized.”
Injury Report – OL Chris Hubbard (knee), RG Wyatt Teller is “week to week” (ankle), DT Sheldon Richardson (neck) “should be OK,” and S Andrew Sendejo (concussion) remains in the protocol.