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CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Browns just need it to be 1 p.m. Sunday.
At around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday night, they placed cornerback Kevin Johnson on the COVID-19 reserve list, where he joins starting cornerback Denzel Ward and four others, all of whom will have to miss the Steelers game.
The others are linebackers BJ Goodson and Malcolm Smith, goaltender Andrew Sendejo and tight end Harrison Bryant. It is not yet clear if Johnson is positive or if he is a close contact. If he’s positive like the other five, he is expected to self-isolate for at least 10 days and miss the Wildcard round next weekend if the Browns make the playoffs.
Johnson would likely have started the game in place of Ward, who tested positive for the virus on Thursday. Ward, the Browns’ second best defensive player behind Myles Garrett, will not only miss Sunday’s game against the Steelers, he could miss game one of the playoffs next weekend, whether it’s Saturday or Sunday.
The Browns called in undrafted rookie AJ Green to take Johnson’s place on the roster. Green (6-2, 198) was signed by the Oklahoma State Browns, and he spent the season on the practice squad.
Johnson’s addition to the roster continues a one-season revolving door in the Browns’ defensive backfield. Sendejo and Ward have tested positive this week, and safety Karl Joseph has been activated off the reserve list as Sendejo’s contact and will play on Sunday.
It was another tumultuous COVID-19 day for the Browns overall. They had to close their facility in the morning for the third time in four days when a second assistant coach tested positive. The Browns later announced that offensive lineman Bill Callahan and his assistant lineman Scott Peters would both miss the game due to COVID-19 protocols.
One of them tested positive and could miss the Wildcard round. The other was close contact. They join wide receiver coach / passing game coordinator Chad O’Shea for the Steelers. The two coaches who tested positive could also miss the playoff game depending on various factors.
The Browns, who can make the playoffs for the first time since 2002, kept their facility closed on Saturday and took their virtual tour.
They recovered five players Thursday from the COVID-19 reserve roster among receivers Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge, and linebacker Jacob Phillips.
But if they continue to lose defensive backs, they’ll make things easier than they hoped for with backup quarterback Mason Rudolph who will always have talented players such as wide receivers Chase Claypool, JuJu Smith- Schuster and Diontae Johnson, and tight end Vance McDonald.
The Steelers experienced significant COVID-19 issues on Saturday with starting cornerback Joe Haden, tight end Eric Ebron and linebacker Cassius Marsh being placed on the COVID-19 reserve list and excluded from the game.
This was after the Steelers had already ruled out Pro Bowlers Ben Roethlisberger, TJ Watt, Cam Heyward and Maurkice Pouncey in part because Pittsburgh (12-3) has already won the AFC North.
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