Browns Latest Injury Report: Some good news ahead of Bengals game

Cleveland Browns are preparing for a gauntlet of a start to the season with three of their first four games against the AFC North. Each of these teams very well are in the playoff picture for 2023, led by the Cincinnati Bengals, who Cleveland has on Sunday. Injuries are going to play a factor in […]

Brandon Little — Ohio State Buckeyes & Cleveland Browns News Writer

Sep 6, 2023 4:27 PM EDT

Cleveland Browns are preparing for a gauntlet of a start to the season with three of their first four games against the AFC North.

Each of these teams very well are in the playoff picture for 2023, led by the Cincinnati Bengals, who Cleveland has on Sunday.

Injuries are going to play a factor in the NFL every week, that won’t change to begin the season. Cleveland received some good news on Wednesday that cornerback Denzel Ward was returning to practice on a limited basis.

Ward remains in the concussion protocol, according to head coach Kevin Stefanski. But now he has a good chance to play Sunday if he continues to pass the steps needed to exit protocol. One of those is practicing on a limited basis with no issues, which the Browns plan to have happen on Wednesday.

There were no players on the pre-practice injury report for Cleveland and that is good news heading into Week 1. Both linebackers Anthony Walker Jr. and Sione Takitaki are on track to play Sunday after suffering significant injuries during the season in 2022.

Marquise Goodwin continues to be progressing and getting up to speed after missing all of training camp with the blood clot issue. There’s a good chance that he can suit up on Sunday against the Bengals, too.

Defensive end Alex Weight started practicing last week after a minor knee surgery. It will be interesting to see if the Browns have him active in Week 1 or give him more time to get re-acclimated. Safety Juan Thornhill showed up the injury report with a calf and was limited.

Both wide receiver Amari Cooper and left guard Joel Bitonio had schedule off days. This was nothing more than a rest day for the two veteran players, there will be plenty of these for different players on the roster.