It is Christmas weekend, a time of hope and cheer, so we will begin this story with good news on the Browns injury front.
Center Ethan Pocic will start against the Texans on Dec. 24 in Houston. Pocic suffered a neck stinger on Dec. 3 when the Browns beat the Jaguars, 31-27. The injury prevented him from playing against the Bears on Dec. 10.
Left guard Joel Bitonio left the game with the Bears in the first quarter because of a back injury. He did not practice Dec. 21, but did practice on Dec. 22. He is listed as questionable for the Houston game/ So it appears the interior of the offensive line — Bitonio, Pocic and right guard Wyatt Teller — will be able to answer the bell against the Texans.
“(Bitonio) is going to continue to work through that the next 48 hours,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said cautiously after practice Dec. 22. “I think it’s important to see how he responds. He has a plane ride coming up (Dec. 23), but he’s continuing to fight to make it.”
OK, so now comes the lumps of coal in the Browns’ Christmas stocking.
Middle linebacker Anthony Walker underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Dec. 22. Walker won’t play against the Texans, but he was not placed on injured reserve. Walker’s “status will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis,” the Browns reported after announcing the surgery.
Safety Juan Thornhill (calf), defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo (pec) and linebacker Jordan Junaszyk (calf) have all been ruled out for Dec. 24. All three, plus Walker, missed the Bears game.
Safety Grant Delpit will miss his second straight game since going on injured reserve with a groin injury. With Delpit and Thornhill both out, the starting safeties once again will be undrafted rookie Ronnie Hickman and second-year player D’Anthony Bell, who also was undrafted in 2022.
“They gave us some good reps (against the Bears),” Stefanski said. “Those are young players that I think will continue to get better. All of these practices are so valuable for those guys.
“They’ve gotten a lot of reps to date, but it’s not like they’ve gotten every rep. So now as those guys get more and more reps, I think you can coach off of them. So I anticipate that those guys will get better.”
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has officially been ruled out for the second straight week because he remains in concussion protocol, which means 35-year-old Case Keenum will start for Houston. Texans leading tackler (85) Blake Cashman is out with a hamstring injury and starting defensive end Will Anderson, tied for second on the team with five sacks, is out with an ankle injury.
BROWNS AT TEXANS
When: 1 p.m., Dec. 24
Where: NRG Stadium, Houston
Records: Browns 9-5, Texans 8-6
TV: WOIO (Ian Eagle and Charles Davis announcing)
Radio: WKRK-FM 92.3, WNCX-FM 98.5, WKNR-AM 850 (Andrew Siciliano and Nathan Zegura announcing)
