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After two weeks of being at full strength, the Cleveland Browns' depth will definitely be tested this week. Here are the depth changes that we'll see this week:
- Earlier in the week, S T.J. Ward was placed on injured reserve. To make matters worse, S Tashaun Gipson injured his foot on Thursday and has been ruled out. That means Usama Young and Eric Hagg will start at safety. I'm not sure who the next safety on the depth chart will be.
- WR Mohamed Massaquoi has a knee injury and has been ruled out. Head coach Pat Shurmur has already confirmed that WR Josh Cooper will be active this week and playing in place of Massaquoi. WR Jordan Norwood may come back next week for the final game.
- TE Jordan Cameron has been ruled out with a head injury. That means there are only two tight ends, so Alex Smith will see more action at tight end. According to Shurmur, Brad Smelley will end up getting some work at fullback.
- DE Frostee Rucker is expected to play despite not practicing Wednesday or Thursday with a shoulder/hip injury.
- With LB James-Michael Johnson being put on injured reserve earlier in the week, later reports indicate that LB Tank Carder, not L.J. Fort, will get reps in the base 4-3 defense.
For the Broncos, OG Chris Kuper will miss his third consecutive game. The full injury and practice report for Cleveland vs. Denver is below.
| BROWNS | WED | THU | FRI | STATUS |
| WR Mohamed Massaquoi (knee) | LP | DNP | DNP | OUT |
| TE Jordan Cameron (head) | DNP | DNP | DNP | OUT |
| S Tashaun Gipson (foot) | LP | DNP | OUT | |
| TE Alex Smith (knee, illness) | FP | FP | DNP | QUESTIONABLE |
| DT Ishmaa'ily Kitchen (calf) | -- | -- | LP | QUESTIONABLE |
| DE Frostee Rucker (shoulder, hip) | DNP | DNP | LP | QUESTIONABLE |
| RB Trent Richardson (chest, rib, finger) | FP | FP | FP | PROBABLE |
| RB Montario Hardesty (knee) | FP | FP | FP | PROBABLE |
| WR Travis Benjamin (finger) | FP | FP | FP | PROBABLE |
| WR Joshua Cribbs (knee) | LP | LP | LP | PROBABLE |
| OG Shawn Lauvao (head, foot) | LP | FP | FP | PROBABLE |
| OT Joe Thomas (back) | LP | LP | FP | PROBABLE |
| OT Oniel Cousins (shin) | FP | FP | FP | PROBABLE |
| OT Ryan Miller (not injury related) | -- | -- | DNP | PROBABLE |
| DE Juqua Parker (knee) | LP | LP | LP | PROBABLE |
| DT Phil Taylor (knee, calf) | LP | LP | LP | PROBABLE |
| BRONCOS | WED | THU | FRI | STATUS |
| OG Chris Kuper (ankle, head) | DNP | DNP | DNP | DOUBTFUL |
| RB Chris Gronkowski (hamstring) | DNP | LP | LP | QUESTIONABLE |
| RB Knowshon Moreno (ribs) | FP | FP | FP | PROBABLE |
| WR Eric Decker (ankle) | FP | FP | FP | PROBABLE |
| WR Matt Willis (knee) | FP | FP | FP | PROBABLE |
| WR Trindon Holliday (knee) | FP | FP | FP | PROBABLE |
| C Dan Koppen (knee) | FP | FP | FP | PROBABLE |
| DT Kevin Vickerson (groin) | LP | LP | FP | PROBABLE |
| LB Wesley Woodyard (ankle) | FP | FP | FP | PROBABLE |
| S Jim Leonhard (ankle) | FP | FP | FP | PROBABLE |
| S Mike Adams (knee) | LP | FP | FP | PROBABLE |
DNP - Did Not Participate
LP - Limited Participation
FP - Full Participation