CLEVELAND, Ohio —Tight end David Njoku and other key Browns players could provide the lift the Browns need this week as they head to Washington to face the 3-1 Commanders.
Njoku has missed the past three games with his sprained ankle, but will practice week and see if he’s ready to go. The Browns could use him in both the passing game and the protection schemes.
Center Ethan Pocic left Sunday’s 20-16 loss to the Raiders with an ankle injury, and is day-to-day, Stefanski said. His loss had a profound impact on the game, with his replacement Nick Harris being called for holding against defensive tackle Christian Wilkins to nullify Amari Cooper’s 82-yard touchdown pass with the Browns trailing 20-16.
Linebacker Jordan Hicks also left the game with an elbow injury and day-to-day. Hicks’ absence was particularly felt in run defense, where the Browns surrendered 152 yards to a team that was last in the NFL heading in with 51 yards per game. The 152 was one yard shy of their season total.
On a brighter note, cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. was cleared of a concussion Monday after being evaluated for one in the second half of the game. He’ll come in handy with the Browns facing excellent rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who’s No. 3 in the NFL with a 107.4 rating.
The Browns are also hoping that offensive tackles Jed Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin will be available this week with the offensive line still rocked by injuries.
“Both guys are getting close,” Stefanski said. “We’ll see. I think Wednesday, Thursday will be a better gauge.”
Watson was sacked only three times by the Raiders, but hit hard 11 times after the throw, and had to shake off the crushing blows several times. The Raiders were also without their premier pass-rusher in Maxx Crosby.
“The (protection) certainly got better,” Stefanski said. “We can be better, but I think you saw when Deshaun had time, there were really some moments that he had a lot of time and then was able to find people down the field, find openings. I thought Deshaun did a nice job of moving forward in the pocket, making plays with his feet, so certainly better, but we’re always looking to improve.”
Stefanski note that Dawand Jones is still recovering from his aggravated MCL repair, but the Browns are expecting more from him. Both Watson and Jameis Winston challenged him during the game to pick it up a notch and become the best tackle in the NFL.
“We expect him to play better,” Stefanski said. “Obviously health is a big portion of all this for all of our guys, so I’m not going to tell you he’s 100%, but he can certainly play better.”
Stefanski also confirmed that the Browns are expected to activate Nick Chubb from PUP on Wednesday and ease him back into practice. They’ll have a 21-day window to add him to the active roster or keep him on PUP for the season. Running Nyheim Hines (ACL) might also be activated off the non-football injury list this week.
“I anticipate him practicing pretty soon here as well,” Stefanski said. “We’ll find out Wednesday.”
