BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Browns cornerback Denzel Ward can’t seem to catch a break.
Ward has been unable to practice this week due to a hamstring injury and he has been ruled out against the Steelers Sunday.
“Obviously, injuries, we do not like them,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “We do not like any variety of them, but that is our job as coaches to get the next guy ready. It is the players’ job to stay ready. That is what we have to work through each week. It is really no different than in-game. You lose a guy in-game, and you have to make some adjustments so that is kind of what we have to do as players and coaches.”
It will be his 12th game missed since the Browns selected the former Ohio State standout fourth overall in the 2018 NFL Draft due to injury.
In seven games this season, Ward has totaled 24 tackles, three pass breakups, a pair of QB hits and half a sack.
Get well soon – Run game coordinator and running backs coach Stump Mitchell will be away from the team indefinitely while he tends to a medical issue related to a previous knee injury.
“[It] is tough because he is such a big part of what we do and who we are,” Stefanski said. “Obviously, my well wishes are with Stump. I have spoken to him obviously, and he wants to be there with the team but has to take care of himself right now so that is what he is going to do.”
Coaching assistant Ryan Cordell will serve as the interim running backs coach and senior offensive assistant Kevin Rogers will also assist in handling some of Mitchell’s responsibilities until he is able to return.
Dawg House – Rookie safety Richard LeCounte III was held out of practice all week due to disciplinary reasons related to a violation of team rules. He will not play Sunday.
“I would not call it a suspension, but I expect him to be back next week,” Stefanski said. “The details of that I will just keep internal.”
Sound of the season – The Browns stretch and warm up to music every day at practice.
Friday’s opening selection – Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ which got a few players, including Odell Beckham Jr. to break out and dance.
The Browns host the Steelers on Halloween Sunday.
Roster moves – The Browns designated backup center Nick Harris to return from injured reserve and signed cornerback Herb Miller from the practice squad to the active roster Friday.
Harris had been sidelined since October 5 with a hamstring injury.
Thursday, the Browns waived offensive tackle Alex Taylor.
Miller, signed by the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2019, has appeared in six career games – four with Tampa Bay in 2020 and two with Cleveland in 2021.
Injury report – OUT: WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (groin), CB Denzel Ward (hamstring); QUESTIONABLE: WR Odell Beckham Jr. (shoulder), DE Jadeveon Clowney (ankle, groin, knee), CB A.J. Green (groin), DT Malik Jackson (ankle), DE Takkarist McKinley (groin), FB Johnny Stanton (calf); EXPECTED TO PLAY: QB Baker Mayfield (left shoulder), RB Nick Chubb (calf), RT Jack Conklin (knee), LB Tony Fields (illness), OL Blake hance (elbow), WR Jarvis Landry (knee), C J.C. Tretter (knee), LT Jedrick Wills (ankle), LB Mack Wilson (calf), LB Malcolm Smith (abdomen)