CINCINNATI, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns are down in Cincinnati for their final regular-season game, squaring off against the Bengals on Sunday afternoon. But with the No. 5 seed locked in for their postseason berth, the Browns won't be playing a handful of starters as they rest in preparation for what they hope is a deep playoff run.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said in the week leading into Sunday's game that quarterback Joe Flacco would rest against the Bengals, seeing newly added Jeff Driskel get the start. He also disclosed that defensive end Myles Garrett would be among the starters resting on Sunday.
Before kickoff, the Browns released their inactive for the game, which included other players sidelined to preserve them for a postseason. Here are the Brown's inactives.
- CB Greg Newsome II
- S Juan Thornhill
- WR Amari Cooper
- WR Marquise Goodwin
- K Dustin Hopkins
- CB Mike Ford Jr.
- DE Myles Garrett
Cooper, Ford, Hopkins, Newsome, Thornhill and Walker had all been ruled out on Friday as they continue working through various injuries. Walker was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury, meaning the soonest he could return to play would be for the Super Bowl if the Browns made it. Cooper is working through a heel injury that the Browns would like him to rest through in Week 18, as they would Hopkins with his hamstring injury. Thornhill has been dealing with a calf injury and Newsome is dealing with a knee injury. Neither is expected to impact them for the postseason. Ford is dealing with a calf injury of his own.
Meanwhile, Jordan Kunasyzk, Corey Bojorquez, Goodwin, and Elijah Moore all entered the game listed as questionable—Kunasyzk with a calf injury, Bojorquez with a quad injury, Goodwin with a knee injury and Moore in concussion protocol after a scary hit he took last week against the New York Jets.
Goodwin was the only player officially listed as inactive. The others were cleared to play—but that doesn't necessarily mean they will.
While some starters remain active for Sunday's game, some will likely play a limited number of snaps to preserve them. Others won't play at all. The Browns have chosen not to list the players they are resting aside from those on the inactives list. That will be learned throughout the course of the game.
One player who could see the field, though is defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo, who was warming up pregame with a shoulder harness. Okoronkwo has been out since mid-December with a pectoral injury that was initially thought to be season-ending. However, he returned to practice this week and Stefanski said he had a "good chance" to play Sunday, with a desire to shake off some rust before the playoffs. The defensive end is active for Sunday's game.
With the Browns locked into their playoff seed and the Bengals eliminated, Sunday's game holds no post-season implications. So while Cleveland wants to finish strong and extend their four-game win streak to five and enter the Wild Card matchup with high momentum, they also want to be as well-rested and fresh as possible for their matchup with either the Jacksonville Jaguars or the Houston Texans in the first round—a fate that will be decided Sunday afternoon after the Jags finish their game.
