Josh McCown Played With Broken Collarbone
Quarterback Josh McCown played most of Cleveland’s 25-20 loss to Baltimore in Week 2 with a broken left collarbone, Browns defensive coordinator Ray Horton said Friday (via USA Today). It was known that McCown was dealing with serious pain Sunday, but the exact nature of his injury was unclear prior to Horton’s revelation. McCown previously broke his right collarbone last year.
McCown completed 20 of 33 passes for 260 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions against the Ravens, who overcame a 20-0 deficit to send the Browns to 0-2. Along the way, the 37-year-old took three sacks and became the second Browns signal-caller to suffer a significant injury in the season’s first two weeks, joining previous starter Robert Griffin III, who hurt his shoulder in the club’s opener.
On playing through pain, McCown said Sunday (via the team’s website), “For me, it is those things and just knowing the window for me right now and understanding that I don’t want to miss snaps. I don’t want to be out there without my guys. Unless it is going to fall off, let’s try to make it work and make it go. That is my mentality.”
Neither Griffin nor McCown will be available this week (the former could be out for the year), leaving the Browns with third-round rookie Cody Kessler as their top option under center. Kessler will start Sunday in Miami, which is also 0-2, and newly signed veteran Charlie Whitehurst will back him up.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Practice Squad Updates: 9/22/16
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Cleveland Browns
- Cut: P Michael Palardy
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: C Shane McDermott
- Cut: C Jake Brendel (Twitter link via Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News)
Denver Broncos
San Diego Chargers
- Signed: WR Isaiah Burse
- Cut: WR Jonathan Krause (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego)
Browns Notes: Williams, Mathews
Cornerback K’Waun Williams has filed a grievance through the NFLPA asking the Browns to pay for his ankle surgery plus his full $600K salary for ’16, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com writes. During the offseason, Williams and the Browns were locked in a heated battle as he refused to play through painful bone spurs in his ankle. The Browns suspended the corner for two weeks and later waived him. He was claimed by Chicago, but later released when he failed the physical.
- The Browns are bringing former BYU wide receiver Mitch Mathews in for a visit/workout on Friday, agent Brett Tessler tweets. Mathews spent this preseason with Kansas City. He auditioned for New England in early September but left without a deal.
Browns WR Corey Coleman Avoids Surgery
Browns wide receiver Corey Coleman saw a specialist today and received some good news. The rookie won’t need surgery on his broken hand and is expected to return in 4-6 weeks, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. If Coleman went under the knife, he would have been out for a lot longer – perhaps for the entire season. 
The Browns’ offense has been battered by injuries in the first two weeks of the season. Already, Cleveland has lost both its starting quarterback (RG3) and its primary backup (Josh McCown), leaving rookie Cody Kessler as the starter on Sunday.
Coleman, the No. 15 overall pick in this year’s draft, was the first wide receiver to come off the board this year. The Baylor product didn’t have the best quarterbacking in his final year on campus, but he still managed to rack up 1,363 receiving yards and he led the nation with 20 touchdown catches. Known for his speed, the Browns were hoping to see Coleman make his presence felt right out of the gate. The rookie did manage seven grabs for 173 yards and two touchdowns to start the season, but they’ll have to wait at least a month before he adds to those totals.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Poll: Which 0-2 Team Is Likeliest To Rebound?
Three-quarters of NFL teams have picked up at least one win this season, leaving eight stragglers that have begun 2016 with back-to-back losses. Historically, clubs that have lost their first two games haven’t rebounded to make postseason trips often. In fact, since the league expanded and reorganized its divisions in 2002, only 12 of 116 teams that have started a season 0-2 have gone on to earn playoff berths. Two of those occurrences came last season, with the Seahawks rallying to finish 10-4 and the Texans going 9-5 over their final 14 games.
Of the teams that are currently 0-2, Cleveland stands out as the one with no realistic chance to recover. As a club in a full-blown rebuild, the Browns were completely written off entering the season, and they’ve since lost their top two quarterbacks – Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown – and No. 1 receiver Corey Coleman to significant injuries.
Elsewhere, the Bears, Bills, Dolphins and Saints faced long odds to contend coming into the year, and their chances have worsened during the first two weeks.
The Bears are stuck in a tough NFC North with the Vikings and Packers, both of whom made the playoffs in 2015. Of greater concern, perhaps, is that injuries are hampering Chicago, which will go without quarterback Jay Cutler, linebacker Danny Trevathan and nose tackle Eddie Goldman for multiple weeks. Meanwhile, linebacker Lamarr Houston is out for the season with a torn ACL.
Buffalo, which has gone a league-worst 16 straight seasons without a playoff trip, is seemingly in shambles in Year 2 of the Rex Ryan era. Ryan fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman last Friday, the same day Bills ownership had a Ryan-less meeting with several of the team’s players. Previously, the Bills dropped winnable games against the Ravens and Jets, which doesn’t bode well for a team whose next two opponents – the Cardinals and Patriots – are elite.
The Dolphins, who are among the Bills’ AFC East rivals, began with an unkind schedule over the first two weeks. They had to go to Seattle and New England, where they lost close affairs. Miami’s next opponent is the aforementioned Browns, who are primed to start third-round rookie Cody Kessler under center. On paper, the Dolphins look likely to win their home opener, but few expect rookie head coach Adam Gase & Co. to make any real noise in the standings this year.
Like the Dolphins, the Saints have started 2016 with back-to-back one-score losses, including a 35-34 opener that the Raiders won with a late two-point conversion. New Orleans hasn’t necessarily played poorly, and it still has a high-powered offense, but a defense that already had issues coming into the year has since lost starting cornerbacks Delvin Breaux and P.J. Williams to major injuries.
In the AFC South, there were preseason cases made for both the Colts or Jaguars to contend for a divisional crown, but things haven’t gone according to plan for either.
Indianapolis moved the ball with ease through the air in Week 1 against the Lions, but its defense was woeful in a 39-35 loss. Then, in last week’s 34-20 defeat in Denver, quarterback Andrew Luck was ineffective. After missing most of last season with various injuries, he has been dealing with a shoulder issue throughout this season.
The Jaguars made several hyped offseason moves and entered the season with high expectations for a franchise that hasn’t won more than five games in a season since 2010. They played the Packers to the wire in Week 1, losing 27-23, but looked like the same old Jags on Sunday in a 38-14 defeat in San Diego.
Of this year’s winless crop, only the Redskins made the playoffs last season. Washington went 9-7 en route to an NFC East title, and the division once again looks like anyone’s to win, but the team won’t have a chance without quarterback Kirk Cousins regaining something resembling the form he showed in the second half of 2015. The Cousins-led Redskins will go on the road Sunday to face the division-rival Giants, who are 2-0. It’s foolish to use the phrase “must-win game” in Week 3, but Washington’s matchup with Big Blue comes close.
As mentioned, the Browns and Dolphins play each other this week. Barring a tie, then, one will break into the win column. The other six face teams that have gone 1-1 or better, and all could remain without a victory through Week 3. Notably, no club has started 0-3 and made the playoffs since the 1998 Bills. First things first, though, which of these eight stands the best chance to make a playoff run this season?
Browns’ Corey Coleman Breaks Hand
The bad news keeps coming for the Browns: Rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman suffered a broken hand in practice Wednesday, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. It’s unclear how much time Coleman will miss, but he’ll join quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown as key members of the Browns’ offense who have landed on the shelf in the early going this season.
Coleman, a first-round pick in this year’s draft, was an obvious bright spot for the Browns during their 0-2 start. The ex-Baylor Bear racked up seven catches for 173 yards and a pair of scores, both of which came in the Browns’ 25-20 loss to the Ravens on Sunday. Coleman also had his first 100-yard showing in Week 2, totaling 104 on five grabs.
Prior to selecting Coleman in the draft, the Browns traded down multiple times, going from second to eighth and then to 15th, where they chose the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder. The decision to exit the No. 2 spot cost the Browns a chance to draft ex-North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz, who has been a standout with the Eagles thus far.
With both Griffin and McCown injured, the Browns are set to start another member of their 2016 draft class, third-rounder Cody Kessler, at quarterback in Miami this week. The fact that that the Browns will have to force Kessler into action ahead of schedule without their best receiver should only make his debut a more difficult undertaking.
Besides Coleman, Terrelle Pryor and Andrew Hawkins are the only other Browns wideouts who have caught passes this year. Pryor has impressed, having hauled in six throws for 100 yards, while Hawkins has posted more modest totals (three catches, 28 yards).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Josh Gordon Slapped With Arrest Warrant
4:26pm: Gordon’s attorneys have issued an update on their client (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com): “Josh Gordon was made aware that he was previously requested to be present in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court. He was unaware of this face until 12 p.m. today. Mr. Gordon immediately made himself available to the Court when he was informed that his presence had been previously required. He attended court today and a hearing was held. The matter was continued until November should a further hearing be needed.”
11:55am: Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon could have yet another off-the-field problem. A warrant has been issued for his arrest after he failed to respond to several months worth of subpoenas in a paternity case, as Adam Ferrise of Cleveland.com writes. 
An Ohio woman claims that Gordon is the father of her one-year-old daughter. The woman is seeking child support and Gordon has not complied with requests to supply the court with a DNA sample.
Gordon, of course, could potentially return to the Browns after sitting out for the first four games of the season. However, his reinstatement is predicated on his behavior and this latest issue could theoretically delay his return.
In 2013, despite missing the first two games of the season due to a suspension, Gordon led the NFL in receiving yards, finishing with 87 receptions for 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns. Thanks to his off-the-field indiscretions, the 25-year-old played in five games in 2014 and missed the entire 2015 season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Browns Sign Scooby Wright To Practice Squad
One day after being waived, Scooby Wright is back with the Browns. This time, Wright is signed to the practice squad, though Cleveland has agreed to give Wright the same salary he was making on the active roster, Mike Florio of PFT tweets. 
Wright, a seventh-round pick, generated an unusual amount of excitement amongst Browns fans this offseason. The Arizona linebacker played out of his mind in 2014, racking up 164 total tackles, 15 sacks, and 31 tackles for a loss. Last year, Wright’s season ended after just three games due to injury. The Browns believe that he has big upside, but a numbers crunch meant that they had to expose him to waivers this week.
Per the terms of his agreement with the Browns, Wright will earn a weekly salary of $26K. That’s likely the highest practice squad salary in the NFL.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Browns Work Out Mackenzy Bernadeau
- Veteran guard Mackenzy Bernadeau worked out for the Browns, as Caplan tweets.
Browns Cut DL John Hughes
The Browns announced that they have released defensive lineman John Hughes. Hughes inked a lucrative extension with the Browns in March of 2015 and had several years to go on his deal. Now, he’ll be a free agent for the first time in his career.
Hughes, a 2012 draftee, started just seven games in his first three seasons in Cleveland and landed on IR in 2014 after suffering an MCL injury. The former third-round pick appeared in all 16 regular season games in 2015 and made three starts, totaling 24 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one fumble recovery, and one forced fumble. Even though his extension was set to pay him $14.4MM in new money, the new regime in Cleveland apparently wasn’t very fond of him.
By cutting Hughes and rookie linebacker Scooby Wright, the Browns have made room for center Austin Reiter and quarterback Charlie Whitehurst.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images