The Cleveland Browns will have one of their key weapons back on the defensive line as they look to make life uncomfortable for undrafted Pittsburgh Steelers rookie Devlin “Duck” Hodges on Sunday.
The team announced that Pro Bowl pass-rusher Olivier Vernon will be active against the Steelers on Sunday after he missed three games with a knee injury.
With the suspension of Myles Garrett for at least the rest of the season, Vernon has been especially missed, with the Browns starting Chad Thomas and Chris Smith, also forcing recently signed Bryan Cox into extended action. Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson has even seen some time at defensive end.
The Browns have liked what they’ve seen out of Cox so much that they decided to make Smith inactive on Sunday against the Steelers.
Cox is in his third NFL season out of Florida. He originally signed by the Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and has appeared in 19 career games and recorded 17 tackles and one fumble recovery.
The Browns will also get back defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi against the Steelers. Ogunjobi was serving a one-game suspension for his role in the brawl between the teams last time out.
The Steelers announced that Hodges would start for Mason Rudolph at QB against the Browns earlier this week.
Sheldrick Redwine Starting for Damarious Randall at Safety
Browns rookie safety Sheldrick Redwine
Along with Smith, the Browns announced their inactives prior to Sunday’s kickoff agains the Steelers. They included:
- WR Taywan Taylor
- S Eric Murray
- S Damarious Randall
- T Greg Robinson
- G Drew Forbes
- TE Pharaoh Brown
While Smith was an interesting scratch, Damarious Randall is by far the most interesting name on that list.
Randall is a key piece of the Browns already depleted secondary and he was not listed on the injury report this week in any capacity, leading to a variety of theories coming out on why he wouldn’t be in the lineup. The move was reportedly made because of something that happened during the week, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.
The team cut ties with Jermaine Whitehead earlier this season for a social media tirade that hinted at violence against his critics, while Eric Murray has been out since having knee surgery.
Fourth-round rookie Sheldrick Redwine will start in place of Randall. It’s his first career start and has played on just 9% of the defensive snaps this season.
Justin McCray Draws Start at Offensive Tackle for Browns
The team has also ruled out left tackle Greg Robinson, inserting Justin McCray into the starting lineup in his place. Robinson reported concussion-like symptoms this week.
He started a game earlier this season when the Browns were looking for a spark on the offensive line, benching Robinson. Kendall Lamm is also available if McCray struggles mightily.
McCray didn’t have the best outing last time he was in the starting lineup. According to Pro Football Focus, he gave up a team-high five quarterback pressures against New England. He also gave up a sack and had a false start.
The Browns are a two-point road favorite for Sunday’s game, marking the first time since 1989 that Cleveland is favored in Pittsburgh.
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