The Cleveland Browns will be undermanned when they host the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Kevin Stefanski’s team, currently a four-point underdog, will have to turn to other players to pull off the upset.
As reported by the team, QB Bailey Zappe (third-string, emergency), K Dustin Hopkins, TE David Njoku, WR Cedric Tillman, RB D’Onta Foreman, DE James Houston, and CB Chigozie Anusiem will all be inactive for this matchup.
Our inactives for Week 15 against the Chiefs pic.twitter.com/QGV8VFrd4D
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 15, 2024
Neither of these decisions is a surprise.
Unfortunately, Tillman still hasn’t been able to clear the concussion protocol, and there’s still no word on when he’ll be able to return.
On the other hand, Njoku didn’t practice all week with a hamstring injury.
Ian Rapoport reported earlier on Sunday that Njoku will try to give it a go if he had a ‘positive’ pre-game workout.
Then again, given how tricky those soft-tissue injuries tend to be, they’ve made the right decision by erring on the side of caution here.
Perhaps the biggest surprise will be seeing that the team has finally decided to move on from the struggling Dustin Hopkins.
Releasing the veteran kicker after the contract extension they gave him could be costly in terms of a cap hit.
Still, even if the team has already been eliminated from playoff contention, it can’t afford to have its kicker repeatedly take points off the board.
The Browns brought back Riley Patterson, and barring an injury or a terrible performance, he should hold onto the job until the end of the season.
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