Tag: COVID-19 reserve list

Browns activate 3 from the reserve/COVID-19 list

Browns activate Harrison Bryant, Ronnie Harrison and Malcolm Smith from the reserve/COVID-19 list

The Cleveland Browns will get back three key members ahead of Sunday night’s Wild Card round matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This morning, the Browns announced that tight end Harrison Bryant, safety Ronnie Harrison Jr. and linebacker Malcolm Smith have been activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Harrison has had the shortest stay of the three on the list after testing positive on Thursday, Jan. 7. Before the Browns made it official, NFL Network reported that Harrison had tested negative after the initial positive test — thus leading to the NFL deeming Harrison safe to play.

Bryant has spent the longest time on the COVID-19 list of the three, after he was placed there on Dec. 29. The rookie tight end, Bryant, has caught 24 passes for 238 yards and three TDs.

Cornerback Denzel Ward remains on the list after he tested positive prior to Week 17.

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Browns practice for 1st time all week but have another positive COVID-19 test

Jovante Moffatt is the latest Browns player to test positive

Friday brought good news and bad news to the Cleveland Browns.

The good news: the Browns were able to practice for the first time in more than a week. Cleveland’s training facility was allowed to open and the team convened together for the first time since Sunday’s win over Pittsburgh at FirstEnergy Stadium. It’s the only practice the Browns get before facing the Steelers in Heinz Field this Sunday night in the wild-card round.

The bad news: the Browns had yet another player test positive for COVID-19 during Friday’s testing. Safety Jovante Moffatt tested positive and has been placed on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list. Moffatt, an undrafted rookie, has played almost exclusively on special teams.

The Browns did activate center Javon Patterson from the practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list. Patterson goes back onto the practice squad and can be elevated for Sunday’s game, if needed.

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Browns sign OL Anthony Fabiano, activate LB B.J. Goodson

Fabiano started 4 games for the Browns in 2016

Facing a depth crunch along the offensive line due to several injuries, the Cleveland Browns brought back a familiar old name. The Browns signed lineman Anthony Fabiano to the active roster on Wednesday.

Fabiano has been with the Browns before. Back in 2016, he played in four games, starting one, as a rookie center out of Harvard. He’s also played for the Indianapolis Colts in 2017 and has spent time on several practice squads in the meantime. Fabiano spent the 2018 preseason with the Browns, too.

The team also activated linebacker B.J. Goodson from the reserve/COVID-19 list, which is a very welcome development to help bolster the defense. Goodson was the team’s leading tackler in the regular season despite missing the final two games. He was the first player to test positive for COVID-19 during the latest wave of infection.

Practice squad safety Elijah Benton was also activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Kevin Johnson added to reserve/COVID-19 list, A.J. Green elevated from practice squad

That makes 5 Browns defenders who regularly play now sidelined with COVID-19

Yet another member of the Browns defense will not be available for Sunday’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cornerback Kevin Johnson was placed on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list on Saturday night, just 16 hours before the scheduled kickoff in FirstEnergy Stadium.

Johnson was slated to start in place of Denzel Ward at CB, with Ward going on the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier this week. Now the Browns are in scramble mode to find enough healthy corners to field a team.

To that end, the Browns elevated A.J. Green from the practice squad with a COVID-19 replacement designation. Green is an undrafted rookie from Oklahoma State who has played exactly one snap on defense all season.

The Browns will now be without all of the following players due to COVID-19 for Sunday:

  • CB Denzel Ward
  • CB Kevin Johnson
  • LB B.J. Goodson
  • LB Malcolm Smith
  • S Andrew Sendejo
  • TE Harrison Bryant

No new positive COVID-19 test for the Browns on New Year’s Day

No new positive COVID-19 test for the Browns on New Year’s Day

Happy New Year!

The Cleveland Browns thankfully have no hangover from a dismal end to 2020. Reports out of Berea indicate the Browns had no new players or staffers test positive for COVID-19 on Friday morning as everyone assembled for practice.

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Browns are hopeful to reopen the team’s facilities and have some semblance of a normal practice on Friday. The Browns have been forced to close everything and cancel practice in each of the last two days as positive tests mounted up.

Practice squad center Javon Patterson and an assistant coach tested positive on Wednesday. It was much worse on Thursday with CB Denzel Ward and LB Malcolm Smith testing positive and going on the reserve/COVID-19 list. They joined TE Harrison Bryant and S Andrew Sendejo, who tested positive earlier in the week.

 

 

Denzel Ward and Malcolm Smith placed on the Browns reserve/COVID-19 list

Earlier reports did not have Ward as one of the players who tested positive

Malcolm Smith and Denzel Ward have been placed on the Cleveland Browns’ reserve/COVID-19 list. The team made the move on Thursday after two positive tests prior to the day’s scheduled practice. The test results forced the Browns to close the team facilities in Berea and cancel the practice session.

Earlier reports indicated that TE Harrison Bryant was one of the two players to test positive, but he remains on the active roster. Instead, it’s Ward who joins Smith in going on the reserve list.

Both players will miss Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ward is the team’s top defensive back, while Smith has been a regular starting LB most of the season.

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Jarvis Landry and 4 others activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list

The Browns get back 4 WRs and LB Jacob Phillips

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski offered some much-needed good news on Thursday. Stefanski indicated that the five players who were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list for being close contacts to a positive test last Saturday have all been activated.

That means WRs Jarvis Landry, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Rashard Higgins and Khadarel Hodge, as well as LB Jacob Phillips, will be back on the field at the next opportunity. Thursday’s scheduled practice was whacked as a result of TE Harrison Bryant and LB Malcolm Smith testing positive for COVID-19.

“I think you’re always excited to get all of those guys back,” Stefanski said Thursday. “Whether a guy is coming back from injury or the COVID list or anything you’re always excited to get the full complement of guys back.”

The Browns passing attack struggled without the top four wideouts in last Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets. Getting back Landry, the veteran leader of the offense, is vital to the Browns as they prepare to face the rival Pittsburgh Steelers.

Andrew Sendejo, B.J. Goodson out for Steelers game due to COVID-19

The Browns will be without two defensive starters in Week 17

There are nine players on the Cleveland Browns reserve/COVID-19 list, but only two of those players have tested positive for the virus. As a result, those two players will miss the Week 17 regular-season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Unfortunately, the players are both defensive starters. Linebacker B.J. Goodson was the first Browns player to test positive in the latest wave. He also missed the Week 16 loss to the Jets. Safety Andrew Sendejo is also out for Week 17 due to a positive test.

Players who test positive must be sidelined for a minimum of 10 days. Goodson tested positive last Friday, while Sendejo tested positive on Tuesday. Both would be able to return for any postseason games, provided they are healthy enough to play.

All of the other players could clear COVID-19 protocols before Sunday and play against Pittsburgh.

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Browns have a coach and practice squad player test positive for COVID-19

Browns have a coach and practice squad player test positive for COVID-19

The Browns COVID-19 situation continues to impact the team as it prepares for a Week 17 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A Browns coach and a player from the practice squad each tested positive on Wednesday morning, forcing the team to close the facility and operate remotely yet again.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski did not identify the coach or player during his press briefing.

The Browns currently have six players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Of those, only linebacker B.J. Goodson has tested positive for the virus.

 

Harrison Bryant and Andrew Sendejo placed on Browns’ reserve/COVID-19 list

They join a crowd on the reserve/COVID-19 list

The COVID-19 issues for the Cleveland Browns are not over yet. Two more players have been added to the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday.

Starting safety Andrew Sendejo and rookie tight end Harrison Bryant were both added to the reserve list. It is unclear immediately if they tested positive or were considered close contacts to someone who did.

They join four wide receivers and LB Jacob Phillips on the list, as well as LB B.J. Goodson, who did test positive last week. Jarvis Landry and the others were deemed close contacts to Goodson and missed Sunday’s game against the New York Jets as a result.

If Sendejo and Bryant were just close contacts, they would still be able to play in Week 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers provided they test negative five days in a row for COVID-19. Landry, Phillips, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge are all eligible to return as early as Thursday if they continue to test negative.