BEREA: Browns center Cameron Erving has run sprints, but he hasn’t blocked anybody since he suffered a bruised lung Sept. 18 in a 25-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
That’s going to change soon because Erving will return to practice Wednesday.
“I’ve been able to do some cardio in this downtime,” said Erving, who’s sat out the past three games. “But it’s just going to be really interesting just to see how I feel getting back into actual football. I’ve done sprints, but we’ll see how it feels getting back into football when somebody’s hitting me and I’m hitting somebody else. So it’s just going to be real interesting, and I’m excited to just get back out there.”
Erving said he isn’t worried about engaging in contact for the first time since the injury occurred because if “you go out there worried, you’re going to get hurt again.”
A first-round draft pick in 2015, Erving said he feels pretty good now and is eager to return.
“Putting all the time that we put into this sport, anybody who gets hurt, it sucks,” he said. “But thankfully I’m in a position where I’ll be able to come back soon. So just going out there and just going to work to get myself back in shape first off and just fight through anything that I may have to fight through.”
Will Erving start at center again when healthy?
“We’ll see,” coach Hue Jackson replied. “I mean more than likely, yes. That’s where he’s played, and that’s where he’s coming back to get ready to go.”
John Greco will likely start at center until Erving is ready. Greco’s primary position is right guard, but he has started two games at center this season.
“I don’t care where I play,” Greco said. “Except tackle, I’m ready for any position. So I’m ready to go. Wherever they need me, I’m ready to plug in there.”
Roster moves
The Browns claimed guard Jonathan Cooper, a former seventh overall draft pick, off waivers from the New England Patriots on Monday.
The Arizona Cardinals picked Cooper in the first round in 2013 and traded him and a second-round selection to the Patriots in March for defensive end Chandler Jones.
Cooper, a 6-foot-2, 302-pound University of North Carolina product, had been practicing as the Patriots’ starting right guard in the offseason until he suffered a foot injury during the third practice of training camp. With Shaq Mason taking control as their starting right guard, the Patriots waived Cooper on Saturday.
Cooper, 26, didn’t appear in a game with the Patriots. He started 11 of the 24 games in which he appeared during his three years with the Cardinals. Nine starts were at right guard in 2015 and the other two were at left guard in 2014. Cooper sat out his rookie season in 2013 after suffering a broken leg in the preseason.
The Browns also placed center Austin Reiter (torn anterior cruciate ligament in left knee) on injured reserve and waived center Anthony Fabiano.
The Browns will sign wide receiver Mitch Mathews to their practice squad, his agent Brett Tessler announced on Twitter. Mathews is an undrafted rookie from Brigham Young University who spent the preseason with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Not panicking
The Browns entered this past weekend with the NFL’s No. 1 rushing attack (149.3 yards per game), but they mustered just 27 yards on 22 carries (1.2 average) in Sunday’s 33-13 loss.
Is there a concern the Patriots laid out a blueprint for others to shut down the running game?
“I don’t know if it’s a blueprint,” Jackson said. “I’m sure people will attempt to do those same things, but I didn’t think our game run was more shut down as, they did a good job, don’t get me wrong. They did some things defensively that maybe we didn’t adjust to as well. But I think we could’ve played better. I believe that all around. I think our guys know there’s more in there for us. I couldn’t even look at the stats. I couldn’t look at it, so I don’t know what it was. But whatever it was, it should’ve been better than what it was.”
Greco stressed the Browns must avoid flipping “the panic switch” about their rushing attack.
“We watched the tape,” he said. “We were critical on ourselves. Everybody’s got to do their job better, me included.”
Statue talk
Patriots coach Bill Belichick had his players visit the new Jim Brown statue outside FirstEnergy Stadium after Sunday’s game. When Belichick served as head coach of the Browns from 1991-95, he formed a strong bond with the legendary running back. Belichick refers to Brown as the greatest football player ever, a great leader and a friend.
“Nobody I have higher respect for than Jim Brown,” Belichick said last week during a conference call with reporters who cover the Browns.
On Monday, Belichick told Patriots writers he thinks legendary coach Paul Brown should have a statue outside FirstEnergy Stadium, too.
“It hits a little special chord for me when you think of Paul Brown, when you think of Jim Brown and the Cleveland Browns — who are named for Paul Brown — and being in that stadium,” Belichick said via ESPN.com. “Not because I was the coach there, but because of what Paul Brown and Jim Brown did for professional football in that city. It has a special place in my heart.”