BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns wide receiver Miles Austin was a big part of the passing game while Josh Gordon was serving a 10-game suspension for a failed drug test, but his contributions to the team will be in a support role only for the remainder of the season.
In Sunday's 26-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Austin suffered what linebacker Karlos Dansby called a lacerated kidney, which has put the veteran wide receiver on injured reserve with four games to play.
"Laceration to the kidney, man that's tough," Dansby said. "It's very dangerous, man. I'm glad they're taking all the precautions they need to take in order to get him back healthy and get him back here.
"His spirits are high. He's bummed that he can't finish the season because there's so much on the line. He's a great teammate and a hell of a competitor. It's a tough injury. He really can't do anything but let his body heal. They can do everything they possibly can, but if his body's not ready to go, he can't move."
Following the game, Austin reported abdominal pain to the team's medical staff, and was subsequently taken to the hospital. He was not able to return to Cleveland until Wednesday night.
"It's my understanding that he'll recover from this," Browns coach Mike Pettine said. "I haven't heard it phrased in any other way, but he got back last night and has a follow-up appointment today with our people here. The news was positive. He was just kept there more for a precautionary (measure)."
Prior to the injury, Austin, a free-agent signee of the Browns back in May, was on the receiving end of 47 passes for 568 yards and two touchdowns, all of which were second-most on the team through the first 12 games of the regular season.
"It is very unfortunate because he was a guy who really embodies what we're trying to build here," Pettine said. "We talk about 'Play like a Brown' and how guys handle themselves on and off the field and how they interact with teammates and with the staff and just their level of play and how they approach the game, everything A to Z.
"We couldn't have asked a guy to come in and be a better example for our young players, while at the same time being a very productive member of our receiving corps, as well. Obviously, our thoughts and prayers go out to him.
"The on-the-field stuff is simple, it's his production. He's made some clutch plays for us. He could go for a period of time where he didn't have much production, and then, all of a sudden, when we needed it, when it was a big third down, when it was a two-minute drive, you just look back at some of the plays that he's made, that's what we'll miss for sure."
