Injury Report: S Eric Hagg Could Fill in on Sunday

At the start of the season, the primary injuries that the Cleveland Browns had to deal with were at two positions: left guard and right tackle. In this morning's practice, they had to deal without those two positions again, with the following added on: strong safety, free safety, running back, wide receiver, and nickelback. This team isn't good enough to get by most teams without seven of their regular starting players, although they should still be able to contend with the St. Louis Rams this Sunday.

The most interesting position is safety, where rookie Eric Hagg could make his first career start against the Rams. Injured most of the season, Hagg recently came back but has not received very many snaps on defense. He could be thrust into the starting lineup because T.J. Ward suffered a hamstring injury last week. From the ABJ and Shurmur:

"I can't tell you what's gonna happen for Sunday," Shurmur said. Ward was scheduled to have an MRI on Monday, but Shurmur didn't reveal the results. "He's in a cast and he's getting it settled down," Shurmur said. "We'll just see. As we move forward, I'll give you more details."

On top of that, Usama Young did not practice Wednesday with a hip injury. Ray Ventrone could play, but he has been dealing with a knee injury.

Shurmur has already ruled out running backs Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty. He stated that Thomas Clayton should play more this week against the Rams. Whether he really means "more" or "Carlton Mitchell more" remains to be seen.

Right tackle Tony Pashos practiced, but was limited with an ankle/foot injury. Artis Hicks, who filled in during the game last week, also saw snaps at right tackle with the first-team offense. Wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi was sent home on Wednesday after showing concussion-like symptoms again. That is not good; it might be time to shut him down. Lastly, nickelback Dimitri Patterson did not practice again as he nurses a knee injury that he suffered two weeks ago.