Browns injury update – Page 11

Denzel Ward sidelined at Friday’s Browns practice

Ward was limited in Thursday’s practice and then sat out Friday’s session

Denzel Ward was a late addition to the Cleveland Browns injury report on Thursday. After appearing in the portion of practice open to the media without any issues, Ward wound up being listed as a limited participant in Thursday’s session in Berea.

It did not get better overnight. Ward did not practice on Friday. Instead, the standout Cleveland cornerback worked to the side with trainers, joining DE Olivier Vernon. He was listed with a groin injury on the official Thursday injury report.

Ward’s status for Sunday’s game against the Washington Football Team will be determined later on Friday. If he can’t go, expect more of Terrance Mitchell and Greedy Williams, who appears set to return to the lineup after injuries of his own sidelined him through the first two games.

Injuries have been a recurring problem for Ward since the Browns selected him as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He missed three full games and parts of others in his rookie campaign and also spent four games in 2019 on the sidelines.

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Denzel Ward joins the limited participant list in Thursday’s Browns practice

Jack Conklin and Kevin Johnson were back at full go on Thursday

Two steps forward, one step back. That’s the story of Thursday’s injury report from the Cleveland Browns practice session.

The jubilation over getting starting right tackle Jack Conklin and top slot cornerback Kevin Johnson back to full participant status is tempered by a new addition to the limited participation list. Cornerback Denzel Ward, who was not on the injury report from Wednesday, appears on Thursday’s list with a groin injury.

Ward was on the field during the portion of practice open to the media, per Fred Greetham of The OBR.

The Browns list of injured players after Thursday’s session:

The did not participates all remain on defense, with DE Olivier Vernon, DE Adrian Clayborn and LB Jacob Phillips. Clayborn started in place of the injured Vernon in Week 2 before leaving with a hip injury of his own.

Johnson’s bump up to full participant is a good sign for the veteran to play for the first time in a Browns uniform this Sunday.

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Kevin Johnson not worried about reinjuring his liver

Johnson is back at practice and hopes to play soon

Kevin Johnson spent two nights in a hospital in August after a freakish training camp injury. Johnson somehow managed to lacerate his liver in an end zone collision during a drill in Cleveland Browns camp.

On Monday, the veteran cornerback returned to the practice field for the first time since the unusual injury. Johnson also met with the media to discuss the serious-sounding wound, his return to practice and more.

The obvious question for Johnson deals with reinjuring the vital organ. Johnson legitimately doesn’t seem too concerned.

“No, and that is the one thing that just going through the process that all the doctors informed me is that once the wound is healed up, it is healed up,” Johnson said on the Zoom session. “It is not like a hamstring that lingers or any type of injury that lingers on. My liver is healed up 100 percent, and I feel normal. I feel like I did right before I injured it.”

Johnson admitted, “I felt like I was having a pretty good camp, and it was just beginning.” He thrived in the competition for the slot CB role, a position he played well in Buffalo in 2019 after years of injury struggles with the Houston Texans.

So what is it like to slice open your liver?

“It was discomfort,” Johnson said. “It was just very uncomfortable. It was very uncomfortable. Like I said, I could not really breathe. I could not really breathe, and it was long. It was kind of a long time where I was kind of just trying to get my breath back to normal. My stomach felt full. I felt like I had drank a lot of water or something like that. I was just like yeah, something is going on inside of my body. I thought I cracked my rib or something, which I had never done before. I just felt something was a little off.”

Johnson was one of three defensive players to return to Browns practice on Monday, joining fellow CB Greedy Williams and LB Mack Wilson. All have been sidelined since suffering injuries in the same week in training camp.

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Greedy Williams, Mack Wilson and Kevin Johnson back and active at Browns practice

Good news on the Browns injury front heading into Week 3

Three key Cleveland Browns defenders who all missed the first two games with injuries were back on the practice field and active participants in Monday’s session in Berea.

Cornerbacks Greedy Williams and Kevin Johnson were joined by linebacker Mack Wilson in working through individual drills on Monday. It’s the first practice for any of the key defensive trio since before the season began.

Williams has missed nearly a month since injuring his shoulder in one of the final training camp sessions. He is expected to return to the starting lineup opposite Denzel Ward once he’s back in full action.

Johnson suffered a lacerated liver in a freakish practice injury on August 20th. The veteran was on track to capture the slot CB role with a strong camp before the injury, which left him briefly hospitalized.

Wilson hyerextended his knee in a practice drill on August 18th and has not returned to the practice field since. The second-year backer will get back into the starting lineup as soon as possible. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was ebullient over Wilson’s return, noting in his Monday Zoom press session,

“To see him back out there was really outstanding … he brings energy”

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Report: Adrian Clayborn has a hip flexor strain, ‘hoping to play through it’

The extra days of rest from playing on Thursday night should help Clayborn

Adrian Clayborn got off to a flying start on Thursday night. Starting in place of injured Olivier Vernon, the veteran defensive end quickly bagged a sack on Bengals QB Joe Burrow. It was a great start to a home debut at FirstEnergy Stadium for Clayborn.

And then it ended abruptly. Clayborn left the game after just 18 snaps. Clayborn was ruled questionable to return with a hip injury by the club, but he never returned to action.

The good news is that the hip injury doesn’t seem serious. Per a report from NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, Clayborn suffered a hip flexor strain. It’s not considered an injury that will sideline the 32-year-old for an extended period. In fact, Pelissero notes that Clayborn hopes to play through the pain.

The Browns have a mini-bye after playing on Thursday night before hosting the Washington Football Team on Sunday, Sept. 27th. The extra rest should help Clayborn get closer to 100 percent than a normal work week.

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Browns injury update: Jedrick Wills back at practice, Jack Conklin sidelined

Wills quickly improving but Conklin remains idle two days in a row

With just one more day of preparation and rehabilitation before the Browns host the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night, the injury status of the team remains troubling.

Starting right tackle Jack Conklin missed his second consecutive practice on Tuesday. He is working through separate injuries to his finger and his ankle.

Also out on both Monday and Tuesday:

CB Greedy Williams (shoulder)
CB Kevin Johnson (liver)
LB Jacob Phillips (knee)
LB Mack Wilson (knee)

On the positive side of the ledger, starting left tackle Jedrick Wills and swing tackle Chris Hubbard both returned to the practice field. Wills left Sunday’s game with a leg injury and was a limited participant on Monday. The Browns have listed it as a shin injury. Hubbard missed Week 1.

Defensive end Olivier Vernon and center JC Tretter were both limited in Monday’s practice but were spotted doing drills in the portion of practice open to the media on Tuesday.

The official game status designations will be made later.

Browns place TE David Njoku on I.R.

After a brutal loss in Baltimore on Sunday, the hits keep coming to the Cleveland Browns. The team announced it has placed right end David Njoku on injured reserve.

Njoku played just 17 snaps in the loss to the Ravens before leaving the game with a knee injury. He played well, scoring the team’s only touchdown in the process of catching all three passes thrown his direction.

The team does have depth at right end with Austin Hooper, Harrison Bryant and Stephen Carlson already on the 53-man roster.

The Browns also made it official in signing kicker Cody Parley to the active roster to take Njoku’s spot.

Browns postgame injury report from Week 1 is a crowded one

The Cleveland Browns were already banged up heading into the Week 1 trip to Baltimore. That injury list took on a few more additions.

The Cleveland Browns were already banged up heading into the Week 1 trip to Baltimore. That injury list took on a few more additions during the team’s ugly 38-6 loss to the Ravens.

Starting left tackle Jedrick Wills left the game early in the fourth quarter and did not return. He went down with a leg injury and reportedly could not put weight on the leg as he limped into the locker room.

Fellow rookie Jacob Phillips also suffered a leg injury. The Browns described the injury as a knee, but the linebacker provided a better visual aid of his own via his Instagram story. It was later deleted but was captured by alert fans on Twitter (h/t @BrownsByBrad)

Tight end David Njoku, arguably the best player on the Browns offense in Baltimore, also left early with a knee injury. Njoku did not return either.

The Browns and coach Kevin Stefanski did not offer any updates beyond cursory information in the postgame.

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Browns rookie LT Jedrick Wills leaves Week 1 with a leg injury

Wills left the game in Baltimore in the 3rd quarter

A poor opening week for the Cleveland Browns got even worse in Baltimore. Late in the third quarter of the Browns pending blowout loss to the Ravens, starting left tackle Jedrick Wills left the game with a leg injury.

Initial reports indicate Wills is questionable to return, though that seems unlikely given the lopsided deficit and the report from CBS sideline reporter Evan Washburn that Wills could barely put any weight on the injured leg.

Kendall Lamm took over at left tackle for Wills, the Browns’ first-round pick out of Alabama. The Browns play again on Thursday night, so Wills will not get much time to rehabilitate.

Browns injury update: 4 players ruled out including CB Greedy Williams

JC Tretter and M.J. Stewart are listed as questionable

After several weeks of numerous injuries of all types in training camp, the Cleveland Browns revealed their official injury status report for the players for Week 1.

Four players, including starting cornerback Greedy Williams, have been officially ruled out for Sunday’s game in Baltimore. Williams did not practice all week as he continues to battle a shoulder injury suffered in training camp.

Also ruled out: CB Kevin Johnson (liver), LB Mack Wilson (knee) and OL Chris Hubbard (ankle). Johnson and Wilson’s injuries have been known to rule them out of Week 1 for some time, so they are not surprises. Hubbard was slated to be the team’s top reserve offensive lineman.

Two players, starting center JC Tretter and slot CB M.J. Stewart, are officially questionable with their injuries. Both were limited participants in practice sessions this week. Tretter’s knee leaves him a game-time decision. If he can’t play, rookie Nick Harris will slide into the starting spot.