BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns are gearing up for the regular season kickoff against the Dallas Cowboys at home on Sept. 8. As they do, they'll have some reinforcements on the field they've been without during the preseason.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed that nine players will be returning to practice this week:
- T Jack Conklin
- S D'Anthony Bell
- DT Dalvin Tomlinson
- CB Greg Newsome II
- TE David Njoku
- RB Pierre Strong Jr.
- LB Jordan Hicks
- LB Tony Fields II
- T James Hudson III
Conklin, who has been rehabbing a season-ending knee injury he sustained in Week 1 of last season, passed a physical and will be removed from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, returning to practice for the first time since the injury. Tackle Jedrick Wills Jr., who has been rehabbing his knee injury, will also be removed from the PUP list but will not return to practice Tuesday, Stefanski said.
Bell has been sidelined for much of training camp, dealing with a shin injury. Tomlinson and Newsome were both ruled out for training camp after having a knee scope and hamstring surgery, respectively. Both will be at practice for the first time since the spring.
Njoku was sidelined from practice last week after dealing with some soreness. Strong sustained a rib contusion during practice last week that left him short of breath and required evaluation at a hospital. He was discharged and is now ready to return to practice.
Hicks has been dealing with an undisclosed injury for much of August, while Fields has been recovering from an ankle injury that left him in a walking boot. Hudson sustained an ankle injury in the Browns' preseason game against the Vikings and has been out since.
Meanwhile, the Browns will start the season with running back Nick Chubb on the PUP list. Rehabbing a knee injury, he will be required to miss the season's first four games and is eligible for activation any time after that. Running back Nyheim Hines, who is rehabbing a knee injury, is not yet ready to return to practice, Stefanski said. The team will continue monitoring him before making a decision to remove him from the Non-Football Injured (NFI) list.
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The Browns will practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before getting a quick break over the weekend, no doubt happy to have so many players returning to the field.
