CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns began their preparations for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh without defensive end Olivier Vernon and there is no indication if he will be ready to go for kickoff.
Vernon was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice at team headquarters and continues to deal with a knee injury that he suffered in a loss at the Denver Broncos on November 2nd and missed three straight games while working his way back into playing shape.
“He’ll be day to day,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said. “He’ll try to do something today, but he’ll be day to day.
“I think maybe off to the side mostly. He may go through some individual or something, but that’s about it probably.”
In addition to Vernon, the Browns went through Wednesday’s practice without safety Eric Murray and offensive lineman Greg Robinson.
Murray is rehabilitating from knee surgery he underwent in the days following a loss at the New England Patriots on October 27th, while Robinson reported to the facility this week with concussion-like symptoms and was placed in the league’s protocol.
Although Vernon’s production will be hard to replace, as he has registered 23 total tackles, including 19 solo stops, four assists and three sacks with one forced fumble, they have gotten solid play out of second-year edge rusher Chad Thomas.
Over the last three weeks, Thomas has registered 10 total tackles, all of which were solo stops, with sacks in back-to-back wins over the Buffalo Bills (19-16 on November 10th) and Steelers (21-7 on November 14th).
On the season, Thomas has made 18 total tackles, including 13 solo stops, with three sacks and one fumble recovery.
“I think Chad played with a bunch of energy, affected the quarterback, which I think is good for a defensive end to affect the quarterback and was solid in the run game,” Kitchens said. “Chad needs to keep his head down and keep going and not be satisfied with anything other than the best he can give us, and I think that’s what he wants. I’m excited about Chad.”
In addition to Thomas’ play as of late, the Browns get back defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, who served a one-game suspension for his role in a brawl with the Steelers just two weeks ago.
“Larry brings a lot of energy, is relentless, resilient,” Kitchens said. “Larry’s a good football player, conscious of his rush lanes, his gap integrity, which makes him a good football player when you add his skill set to that.”