BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns entered the week working through whether they'd place right guard Wyatt Teller on injured reserve after he sustained a knee injury in Sunday's game against the New York Giants. On Wednesday, they made that move.
Teller has been placed on IR and must miss at least four games before being eligible for activation. The earliest he will be able to return is Oct. 27 in the home game against the Baltimore Ravens.
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On Wednesday, the Browns also signed tackle Germain Ifedi to the active roster from the practice squad and signed tackles Sebastian Gutierrez and Ricky Lee III and defensive end Elerson Smith to the practice squad. Linebacker Luiji Vilain was released from the practice squad in the same set of roster moves.
Roster moves were one way of adjusting to Teller's injury. Another is gearing up rookie guard Zak Zinter for a bigger role.
Zinter stepped in at right guard on Sunday when Teller went down. It was a moment he's been preparing for since he got to Cleveland as a third-round draft pick this spring.
"You never want to see that happen to anyone. Just got to have that next man in mentality and prepare like you're going to be out there playing—and next thing you know, you are," Zinter said.
The team was impressed with Zinter's performance and said he earned the trust should they plug him in to start in Teller's absence.
"I would tell you, Zak did a nice job. He's a guy that we think highly of," said head coach Kevin Stefanski. "I thought he went in there, really didn't miss a beat. So he's somebody that we trust should he be in there."
While the Browns navigate Teller's injury, they're also monitoring several others. Left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. is not expected to practice Wednesday, dealing with a knee injury that sidelined him on Sunday as he made his return from the season-ending knee injury he sustained last year.
Stefanski said that Wills' knee injury is to the same knee he has been rehabbing.
Meanwhile, the team is also monitoring injuries that star defensive tackle Myles Garrett and tight end David Njoku are dealing with.
Garrett is dealing with a foot injury that is also impacting his Achilles and thigh. Njoku is still working his way back from an ankle injury he sustained during Week 1 and has been sidelined since.
Stefanski said they would not rule out Garrett or Njoku at this time, with Njoku expected to return to some practice activity Thursday and Garrett planning to play through his injuries.
Several other players are working through injuries as well, with running backs Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. not practicing Wednesday, with a knee and hamstring injury, respectively. Veteran linebacker Jordan Hicks also didn't practice with a rib and elbow injury that he left Sunday's game with.
