BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns have a short turnaround this week, as just four days after posting a 19-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, they play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers on “Thursday Night Football.”
Because of the short work week, the Browns are not expecting injured defensive back Eric Murray to make his return to the lineup for the Steelers game as he continues to recover from in-season knee surgery.
“Eric’s probably not going to make it back,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said prior to Tuesday’s practice at team headquarters in Berea. “He’s probably not going to make it back. I don’t know if that’s been released or not, but I’m telling you he’s probably not going to make it back.”
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Following last Friday’s practice, the Browns declared defensive end Olivier Vernon and Murray out for the Bills game. Vernon suffered a knee injury in 24-19 loss at the Denver Broncos on November 3, while Murray underwent surgery after a loss to the New England Patriots on October 27.
In seven games this season, his first with the Browns, Murray made 22 total tackles, including 15 solo stops and seven assists, with one sack and one pass defended.
Prior to the injury, Vernon registered 23 total tackles, including 19 solo stops and four assists, with three sacks for 20 lost yards (third-most on the team in both categories) and one forced fumble. In Vernon’s place, second-year lineman Chad Thomas got the start against Buffalo.
Although Vernon has had time to recover, the Browns are not confident about his availability against the Steelers.
“I wouldn’t say I’m optimistic,” Kitchens said of Vernon. “I’ll just wait and see. We don’t really know. Hopefully, he wakes up feeling great.”
Along with Vernon and Murray, the Browns are not sure about the availability of veteran tight end Ricky Seals-Jones, who suffered a knee injury when he was hit on the kneecap with a defender’s shoulder pad in a loss to the Broncos.
Seals-Jones is the Browns’ sixth-leading receiver with nine catches for 155 yards and is tied for the team lead with two touchdown receptions.
“Ricky’s going to be kind of day to day, too,” Kitchens said. “It’s probably a ‘day of game’ type decision for Ricky.”