CLEVELAND – The last thing NFL Coaches want to see is their players getting injured in the preseason. It appears the Cleveland Browns may have avoided a potentially devastating injury of their own.
Speaking after a 5-0, preseason win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Browns head coach Hue Jackson confirmed that x-rays on starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor’s hand came back negative. Taylor left the contest with about six minutes remaining in the first quarter after landing awkwardly on his hand following an incomplete, fourth-and-goal pass attempt. At first Jackson feared the worse, but Taylor eventually returned to the game and played until halftime.
“I was very concerned,” Jackson admitted. “Any time your starting quarterback goes to the locker room, you’re not sure. But he came back, obviously went back in the game. So, we’ll continue to look at it and see where we are as we head into next week.”
The fact that Taylor was able to return to the game was obviously a positive sign in its own right. Regardless, Jackson caught plenty of heat on social media for allowing the dual-threat QB to reenter the game and risk further injury. Jackson explained that he made sure Taylor was completely okay before reinserting him into action.
“Our medical people said he was fine and he could be out there and we wouldn’t have put him back out there if he wasn’t,” Jackson said.
Meanwhile, as more tests loom for Taylor in the coming week, the Browns head man expressed confidence that the 29-year-old won’t miss any substantial time.
“I know that we’ll make sure that we take care of this week, whatever that is, and get him back to where needs to be,” he said. “I feel comfortable and confident that he’s gonna be okay and that we’ll have him.”
Taylor wasn’t the only injury scare of the night either. During the Eagles first series, rookie CB Denzel Ward went down awkwardly making a tackle and injured his back. Ward left the game and did not return. Jackson revealed afterwards that Ward will assess the ailment more on Friday when the No. 4 overall pick receives and MRI.
Cleveland also saw linebacker Genard Avery go down with a hamstring injury. Prior to kickoff, the Browns also ruled out wide receiver Antonio Callaway with a groin injury and in a last second decision kept made safety Damarious Randall inactive after his knee locked up during warmups.
That onslaught of injuries overshadowed a dominant defensive performance and ugly win for the Browns over the defending Super Bowl Champs, in their final dress rehearsal.
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