Denzel

Ward

Ward was listed with a migraine on the Browns’ Wednesday injury report. It doesn’t seem like his migraine is tied to any concussion or head injury, so we would expect Ward to be able to recover and play in Week 13 against the 49ers. Also not practicing defensively for the Browns were DE Alex Wright (quad) and DT Adin Huntington (quad). Both Wright and Huntington are in jeopardy of missing Week 13, though practice reports later in the week will provide clarity.

He’ll play against the Bengals after notching a full practice upgrade on Friday. Ward had two limited sessions earlier in the week and has been dealing with this shoulder injury since the middle of August. We hope Mr. Ward enjoys his afternoon chasing Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase around.

The Browns have a lengthy injury report ahead of Week 1, though only one player actually missed Wednesday’s practice entirely. That was defensive tackle Mike Hall, who is still recovering from the season-ending knee injury he suffered in Week 18 of last year. Hall avoided the PUP list, meaning he shouldn’t be out for long, even if he misses Week 1. The remainder of the Browns, including Ward, don’t appear to be at risk of missing the team’s opener versus Cincinnati.

Ward missed another practice on Wednesday, but it doesn’t seem like he’s in any real danger of missing Week 1 for the Browns. Cedric Tillman (thumb) wore a brace at today’s practice but it is another injury that is not considered serious, per Stefanski.

Ward left practice with a shoulder issue, but Jordan Schultz reports the “belief is that he’ll be fine.” The 28-year-old is one of the Browns’ starting corners, tallying 19 passes defended and two interceptions in 16 games last season. He will undergo further testing and his availability for Week 1 will be determined later.

The Browns limp into Week 18 with a skeleton crew of personnel, with reports out of Cleveland indicating that both Bailey Zappe and Dorian Thompson-Robinson would see time under center. Offensive expectations should be tempered considering the team’s lowly 12.5-point Vegas implied team total.

Ward did a good job of covering Tyreek Hill early on, preventing a would-be long touchdown in the first half. Ward’s absence will likely be felt in the second half.

Ward missed practice Wednesday and Thursday. He was listed as questionable on Friday, but now that he’s cleared concussion protocol, he has the green light for the game against Los Angeles on Sunday.

Linebacker Jordan Hicks remains out with an elbow injury. Ward missed the first two practices of the week but was back on the field on Friday. He will need to make it through the league’s concussion protocols before being cleared for Week 9. Ward leads the NFL with 13 pass breakups this year.

Ward will have to clear the NFL’s concussion protocol if he’s going to suit up this weekend against the Chargers. The starting corner has 12 defended passes along with 15 tackles this season.