Thornhill and Hurst Won't Practice Today

Two key defensive players are ruled out for practice for the Browns as the team prepares for a huge matchup with the Steelers on Monday night.

The Cleveland Browns returned to the practice field today to prepare for their primetime matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night. Two players have been ruled out for the practice. 

Starting free safety Juan Thornhill who missed practices last week and ultimately the game Sunday and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst will not be able to go today according to reports from the team. Thornhill popped up on the injury report last week with his calf injury and Hurst's injury is being reported as a hamstring.

Hurst must have suffered the injury at some point against the Bengals on Sunday. The calf injury to Thornhill isn't anything too serious but it is one the team wants to exercise an extreme amount of caution on. Look no further than what happened this last Monday night with Aaron Rodgers. Many experts are saying that calf injuries can possibly make players more susceptible to having an achilles injury. 

Prior to practice head coach Kevin Stefanski categorized the injury as day to day and said they will see how it plays out this week. The media did have a chance to enter the locker room before practice and Thornhill stated that the calf is feeling better and he hopes to be able to play on Sunday.

#Browns safety Juan Thornhill says the calf is feeling better. Says he hopes to play Monday night against Pittsburgh.

— Chris Easterling (@ceasterlingABJ) September 14, 2023

The Browns will have options at defensive tackle should Hurst not be able to play. Rookie Siaki Ika who was an inactive for the season opener stands good chance to make his NFL debut in Pittsburgh against a Steelers team who will try to grind down the pace of the game by running the football. This may also explain why the team signed Tommy Togiai back to the practice squad earlier in the week.