It is Friday, December 9, 2022, and the Cleveland Browns are looking forward to a Sunday afternoon matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals in Part 2 of the Battle of Ohio.
The Bengals are seeking their first win in three years.
The TGIF edition of Browns Nation news and notes highlights news about the upcoming game.
1. Who Will Fill Sione Takitaki’s Role?
Per Mary Kay Cabot, Browns DC Joe Woods has indicated that Deion Jones and Jordan Kunaszyk will both fill Sione Takitaki‘s middle linebacker role.
#Browns DC Joe Woods said Deion Jones and Jordan Kunaszyk will play at Mike 'backer with Takitaki out for the season
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) December 8, 2022
Prior to suffering his season-ending injury, Takitaki smoothed out communication issues that occurred earlier in the season; hopefully, Jones and Kunaszyk will be successful in that area also.
2. Thursday Injury Report
As is usually the case, the Browns have more players listed on the injury report than their opponent.
#Browns vs. Bengals injury/participation report. pic.twitter.com/8CtzQ5qWae
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) December 8, 2022
On Thursday, Pharaoh Brown did not practice due to illness, and Chase Winovich is dealing with a knee injury that kept him from practicing.
In addition, Jack Conklin had a veteran rest day on Thursday.
A.J. Green, James Hudson, and Denzel Ward were back at practice as limited participants on Thursday after missing Wednesday.
Green has a knee issue, Hudson is dealing with an illness, and Ward has both an ankle injury and an illness.
Ward needs to get well quickly because he will face a healthy Ja’Marr Chase on Sunday; Chase missed the Halloween game with a hip injury that sidelined him for four games.
For the Bengals, Tee Higgins (hamstring) and Sam Hubbard (calf) practiced on a limited basis on Thursday.
TGIF Browns fans!
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