CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Browns had to close their premises again on Thursday because linebacker Malcolm Smith and tight end Harrison Bryant tested positive for COVID-19, but the club still hopes to get five of its close contacts today.
Bryant had previously been placed on the COVID-19 reserve list as a close contact to someone outside the building who tested positive.
This makes a total of 10 players from the regular squad on the reserve list – four positives and six close contacts – but they hope to have the six contacts back into the game, including all four of the top recipients. The Browns also have players on the training team who are positive in the pivots Javon Patterson and Elijah Benton, in addition to an unidentified coach.
Smith’s defeat is great, as the Browns are already without linebacker BJ Goodson, who tested positive on Saturday and also missed the Jets game.
Two other linebackers suffered ankle injuries in that game and were limited on Wednesday: Tae Davis and Sione Takitaki.
The Browns closed their premises for the second consecutive day on Thursday, while tracking contacts and keeping their fingers crossed so that no one else was added to the list. After this is completed, they hope to train late in the afternoon for Sunday’s big “win and entry” game against Steelers at FirstEnergy Stadium, as they did on Wednesday.
The five players who were added to the list on Saturday as close contacts to Goodson tested negative again Thursday and are eligible to train this afternoon: Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge, and linebacker Jacob Phillips.
Everyone missed out on Sunday’s 23-16 loss to the Jets, a game that could have secured a playoff spot for the Browns.
On Tuesday, three more players were added to the list: Bryant and security guards Andrew Sendejo and Karl Joseph. Of those three, Sendejo and Bryant are now positive, but Joseph can probably return on Saturday as a close contact.
On Wednesday, Patterson and an unidentified trainer tested positive. The coach will not be on the field on Sunday, but he is not defensive coordinator Joe Woods, as he was photographed by the team in training on Wednesday.
“These days can be very tiring – the schedule changes and you don’t know exactly when you should get in and start practice and training, so you kind of have to stay close to your phone, as they tell us to do, and be alert to that, ” quarterback Baker Mayfield said on Wednesday. “We can’t do anything about it, so there’s no reason to complain. You roll with the blows and you have to deal with it. We are not the only ones to have to deal with adjustments. “
In a conference call on Wednesday, NFL medical director Dr. Allen Sills said the game “is not at risk” of being delayed because there is no evidence of transmission inside the facility. Sills said the league will continue to monitor the situation.
The other good news for the Browns today, in addition to the batch of players who left the reserve list, is that the Steelers will rest more of their superstars in Sunday’s game.
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Pro Bowlers TJ Watt, Cam Heyward and Maurkice Pouncey will be out of the game, in addition to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has been 23-2-1 against the Browns since 2004.
Watt leads the NFL with 15 sacks and is one of the top NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidates, and Heyward led the Steelers with eight tackles in their first encounter with the Browns, a 38-7 victory for the Steelers.
Dulac reported that veterans like cornerback Joe Haden and point guard David DeCastro will play, but to a limited extent.
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