Getty Cleveland Browns safety Damarious Randall
Damarious Randall will not be be on the field against the New York Jets on Monday night.
The Browns announced on Saturday that Randall has been dealing with concussion like symptoms and that the safety will not be playing on Monday Night Football against his former head coach, Gregg Williams.
Eric Murray — a former fourth round pick out of Minnesota that signed with the Browns this offseason — is next up on the depth chart and likely to draw the start.
Here is the full injury report from Saturday.
#Browns injury report.
The Browns have engaged in a war of words with the Jets, targeting Williams, who was Cleveland’s interim head coach for the final eight games of last season. The most notable spat has been between Odell Beckham Jr. and Williams, with the wide receiver accusing the Jets defensive coordinator of teaching dirty tactics.
However, Randall has been in on it as well, saying he would have requested a trade if Williams was handed the head coaching job.
“I don’t got no love for him at all,’’ Randall told Cleveland.com. “I’m happy he didn’t get the job here. Because if Gregg would’ve gotten the job here, I would’ve requested a trade immediately.”
Randall, the 30th overall pick in the 2015 draft, thrived with the change of scenery following a trade from the Packers last season. Before arriving in Cleveland, Randall had played 1,734 of his 2,281 snaps with Green Bay at corner. After the first-round pick departed Green Bay, then head coach Mike McCarthy admitted the Arizona State product was playing out of position.
In his first full year at safety, Randall excelled, recording a career-high 85 tackles and four interceptions with the Browns. He’s currently in a contract year and has said he wants to stay with the Browns.
Browns Injury Report: Thin at Running Back Following Dontrell Hillard Injury
GettyBrowns running back Dontrell Hilliard.
Offensive tackle Kendall Lamm (knee), running back Dontrell Hilliard (concussion) and linebacker Adarius Taylor (ankle) have also been ruled out for the Monday Night Contest.
Four others — wide receiver Rashard Higgins (ankle), guard Joel Bitonio (abdomen), defensive end Chris Smith (personal) and quarterback Drew Stanton (knee) — are considered questionable.
Hilliard was assuming the No. 2 running back role behind Nick Chubb with Kareem Hunt serving a suspension. Hilliard scored the Browns first touchdown of the season on a short run. In his absence, D’Ernest Johnson — of AAF fame — will likely see some extended time.
Chris Smith Practices for First Time Following Tragic Death of Girlfriend Petara Cordero
Browns defensive end Chris Smith participated fully in practice on Saturday, but his status for game day is still uncertain. It was Smith’s first full practice since the death of his girlfriend Petara Cordero.
Cordero was killed on the morning of Sept. 11 at around 2 a.m. when Smith’s 2019 Lamborghini blew a tire and crashed into a median wall, the Cleveland Police Department said. As Cordero and Smith got out of the car, a woman in a Mazda hit the passenger’s side of Smith’s car, hitting and killing Cordero, who was pronounced dead at the hospital.
“I tell these guys all the time, this football season is about the journey. You want to be around guys that want to be on the journey with you. To do that, you have to care about each other. If you want to get the most out of your team, you have to start at some point caring about each other,” Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens said. “When you do that, it builds relationships. Chris is one of those guys. His smile in infectious. His personality is infectious. He is just overall well liked, just like you said. Of course, everybody in that locker room is hurting for him.”
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