CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns are going to be without two starters for their “Thursday Night Football” game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland this week.
Following Wednesday’s practice, the Browns released their final injury report, and defensive end Olivier Vernon and safety Eric Murray were ruled out for the Steelers game. Vernon is working through a knee injury suffered in a 24-19 loss to the Denver Broncos, while Murray is rehabbing from knee surgery, which he underwent following the loss at the New England Patriots on October 27.
Vernon will miss his second straight game, while Murray will not play in a third consecutive outing.
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In addition to Vernon and Murray being ruled out, tight end Ricky Seals-Jones (knee) and offensive tackle Kendall Lamm (knee) were listed as questionable to play against the Steelers.
In seven games this season, his first with the Browns, Murray made 22 total tackles, including 15 solo stops and seven assists, with one sack and one pass defended.
Prior to the injury, Vernon registered 23 total tackles, including 19 solo stops and four assists, with three sacks for 20 lost yards (third-most on the team in both categories) and one forced fumble. In Vernon’s place, second-year lineman Chad Thomas got the start against Buffalo.
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Seals-Jones suffered a knee injury when he was hit on the kneecap with a defender’s shoulder pad in a loss at the Broncos. Currently, Seals-Jones is the Browns’ sixth-leading receiver with nine catches for 155 yards and is tied for the team lead with two touchdown receptions.
“Ricky’s going to be kind of day to day, too,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said prior to Tuesday’s practice at team headquarters in Berea. “It’s probably a ‘day of game’ type decision for Ricky.”
Lamm has been out of the lineup since Week 1, when he suffered a knee injury shortly after taking over for left tackle Greg Robinson following his ejection in the loss to the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.