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Austin Hooper Out Sunday With Appendicitis, Will Have Surgery

Cleveland Browns tight end has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will miss Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals to have an appendectomy. The timetable for his return is unclear.
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The Cleveland Browns have announced that tight end Austin Hooper will be out Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals after discovering he has appendicitis. He will have surgery to remove it and his timetable to return is unknown at this point.

The Browns incur another injury on offense, this time in the form of an ailment, but both Jarvis Landry and Baker Mayfield are playing through injuries while Wyatt Teller and Nick Chubb are both out with their respective injuries.

The Browns will have David Njoku and Harrison Bryant as their main tight ends this week. Hooper has clearly been their top tight end after signing a big free agent deal this offseason, but both Njoku and Bryant contribute in their offense.

This could mean a far more opportunities for Njoku, whose agent Drew Rosenhaus is still hoping his client will be traded before the deadline on November 3rd. The Browns have not shown any interest in trading Njoku and this is one of the reasons why, but could provide a way for him to showcase why he should be used more, even when Hooper returns.

The Browns could also opt to use fewer tight ends in this game, going with more receivers in their offensive formations in light of the loss of Hooper. That would come in the form of more Rashard Higgins.

The timing of the surgery could impact Hooper's ability to play in next week's game against the Las Vegas Raiders. It might force the Browns to hold him out and let him fully recover and get back to full speed over the bye week when they hope to get both Teller and Chubb back for the second half of the season.