Cornerback Denzel Ward's is good to go for Week 11 after initially being listed as questionable due to an illness, while two other defenders head into the weekend with notable designations
Two notable players became late additions to the Cleveland Browns Week 11 injury report on Friday.
Star cornerback Denzel Ward initially headlined a trio of players with an injury designation this weekend after popping up on the injury report with an illness. Now, however, Ward is cleared to play against the Baltimore Ravens after being listed as questionable.
It's good news for the Browns, who only have four cornerbacks on the active roster at the moment.
Even with Ward being elevated off the list, Cleveland isn't totally out of the woods with injuries ahead of Sunday as DT Maliek Collins remains questionable. Head coach Kevin Stefanski revealed that Collins left practice early on Friday after tweaking something with his oblique. Stefanski didn't seem overly concerned about the ailment but it leaves his status for Sunday in flux nonetheless.
Only one player has been ruled totally out for the Browns at the conclusion of the practice week in young defensive end Alex Wright. The 2022 third-round pick suffered a quad injury in last weekend's 27-20 loss to the New York Jets, exiting the game in the second half and not returning.
That ailment kept him out of practice throughout the entire week paving the way for him being designated as out against Baltimore. Wright has put together a solid season for the Browns, compiling 24 total tackles, including three sacks and nine tackles for loss. He's also forced a fumble this year as well.
Wright's absence will pave the way for Isaiah McGuire to take the bulk of the reps at defensive end opposite of Myles Garrett. Wright and McGuire have rotated at that spot for the entire season, with Wright taking a larger percentage of those reps overall.
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz raved about Wright this week, while also highlighting the fact that McGuire has a great opportunity in front of him as he takes on a bigger work load.
"Zay (Isaiah McGuire) had an outstanding training camp for us and really won the starting spot," he explained. "And then he had a little bit of little setback early in the season and just wasn’t as productive as he wanted to be and as we wanted him to be. And at the same time, Alex was really being productive. And Alex sort of out snapped him. We really don’t have him. We know that Myles really don’t have, quote, starters, but he out snapped him in there. And, you know, this was a great opportunity for Zay to get that back and to be the consistent playmaker that we know he can be."
Meanwhile, for Baltimore, Lamar Jackson is expected to be a full go despite not practicing on Wednesday with a knee injury. He returned to practice as a full participant on Thursday.