The Browns will put the cap on another losing season against the Steelers in Week 17 and they aren’t sure if their two first-round picks from April will be on the field to help them do it.
Coach Pat Shurmur said Monday that he isn’t ruling quarterback Brandon Weeden or running back Trent Richardson out for the season finale after both of them suffered injuries in Sunday’s 34-12 loss to the Broncos. Weeden hurt his shoulder, forcing him out of the game and Colt McCoy into it. Shurmur said it was a sprain and he said Richardson hurt, but did not break, his ankle.
“We’re still evaluating those injuries. In the case of Trent, it involved his ankle. The X-rays didn’t show a break, but we haven’t finished up the evaluation,” Shurmur said, via Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon-Journal. “He was actually feeling better today. So we’ll see how that goes.”
Shurmur, who could be coaching the final game of his Browns tenure when they face the Steelers, said he wasn’t inclined to rest Richardson if there was a chance he could play.
“I want to see if he can come back and play. I think it’s important if guys are physically able to play they play. That’s the competitive nature of this game,” Shurmur said.
With the competitive part of the Browns season over, we wonder if anyone guaranteed to stick around might have a different impression when it comes to playing Richardson.