BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Everyone can exhale.
The Browns’ book end defensive ends will be on the field in Jacksonville.
Here’s the top Brownie Bites from a Friday full of good news.
Garrett and Za’Darius good to go – Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith returned to practice Friday after sitting out Thursday due to injuries. “A couple of things popped up with them,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. Both players are expected to play Sunday in Jacksonville. Garrett is dealing with a foot injury he felt during last Sunday’s loss to Dallas at home. “I wouldn't say it's something to worry about, just something for us to manage and be conscious of, at least for myself, be conscious of and be just a little cautious,” Garrett said. The injury is to the same foot he dislocated a toe during the 2023 Pro Bowl games while running an obstacle course. “I don't think it's related to that,” Garrett said. Smith was listed with a back injury but getting Thursday off was more of a rest day for him.
Full support – We will see if Deshaun Watson’s latest off the field problems will impact him or the Browns, but this week everyone toed the company line about supporting Watson. “That's what we've always done, close ranks and taking care of our guys no matter who it is,” Garrett said. “So we're going to continue to have his back completely and help him get through everything he's dealing with. He's had a lot of different personal hardships currently, so we're going to be there for him as much as we can and be that shoulder to lean on and they'll take care of him as brothers on Sunday.” Watson faces allegations of sexual assault stemming from an October 2020 social dinner date. It is the most serious claim made against Watson to date but for now, everyone in the locker room is turning a deaf ear to it. “I don't think it'll have any impact,” cornerback Greg Newsome II said. “Everyone always says, man, when you cross those lines, when you get in this building, it's about the work. It's about football. So everyone has things going on outside the building, but when we get in this building, it's about football.”
Bouncing back – Under Stefanski, the Browns are 19-9 following a loss. “He doesn't ride the rollercoaster,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “I know everybody else is riding the rollercoaster, but he's the same guy. He's focused, he has one mission this week and it’s to go 1-0 however possible. No matter who's out there, it's go 1-0 and that's what he’s focused on. He doesn't hear the outside noise. That's what you look for in your leader.” Since the 2020 season Cleveland has lost back-to-back games four times, three and four straight just once each. “I think he's a great players coach and he's always calm,” cornerback Greg Newsome II said. “He's never too high, he is never too low. He stays middle of the pack. So I think he did a great job, honestly, of just getting the right guys in the building. First of all, his message can be anything, but if you don't have the right guys to be able to support that message, then you can't do anything. So I think it's a very good player led team.” It explains why no one was sweating the Week 1 loss this week. “When you really look at a lot of the greatest teams, a lot of them kind of like lose that first game,” linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah said. “It's a lot of difficulty early on. And sometimes when you are just having so much success to start off with, you've never really been challenged, you've never really had that like hurt feel, at least early on, some teams get smacked when it comes to playoff time. So I'm not glad that we lost the game, but again, we learn from those mistakes and find a way to conceptualize it for our benefit.”
Hudson again – For the second straight week left tackle is in flux. “We will use the next 24 hours, 48 hours, see how everybody comes out of practice today before we make that determination,” Stefanski said. Jack Conklin was limited all week and Jedrick Wills Jr. has been ruled out again meaning James Hudson III is in line to get the start again.
Injury report – OUT: TE David Njoku (ankle); LT Jedrick Wills Jr. (knee); QUESTIONABLE: OT Jack Conklin (knee),; EXPECTED TO PLAY: LG Joel Bitonio (elbow), LS Charlie Hughlett (foot), DT Dalvin Tomlinson (knee),DE Alex Wright (triceps/elbow), LT Jedrick Wills Jr., C Nick Harris (knee), WR Jerry Jeudy (knee), LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (hand), CB Denzel Ward (shoulder), DE Myles Garrett (foot), DE Za’Darius Smith (back)
