Injury Plagued Browns Limping Into Game Against Miami
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CLEVELAND (CBSMiami/AP) — Either the Miami Dolphins or Cleveland Browns will get their first win of the season on Sunday.
One of those teams has reasons to be optimistic while the other feels like things just keep getting worse.
The Browns can't even get through a practice uninjured these days.
Rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman broke his hand during Wednesday's workout, the latest major blow to a young, struggling team that has already lost two starting quarterbacks in the first two weeks of the season.
A first-round draft pick, Coleman had a breakout game Sunday, scoring two touchdowns in a 25-20 loss against the Baltimore Ravens. He was finally looking like the big-time playmaker the Browns envisioned he could be when they selected him No. 15 overall.
Now, the former Baylor star is sidelined, leaving Cleveland's offense without another option.
Coleman banged his hand on another defender while making a catch but continued to practice. He stayed on the field the entire time, but later went for an X-ray, which revealed the fracture.
The Browns released a statement addressing Coleman's injury, saying "the injury is being further evaluated in order to determine when he will return to play."
On Wednesday night, Coleman posted a message on his Instagram account.
"The past few hours have been real tough for me," he wrote. "Making it to the NFL was a dream that many didn't think I could accomplish. That road was full of many tough times. Breaking my hand in practice today was tough. But thankfully tough times don't last, tough people do. I. Will. Be. Back."
Coleman's injury follows those to QBs Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown, who are both sidelined indefinitely with injuries to their left shoulders.
With Griffin and McCown out, the Browns will start rookie Cody Kessler at Miami.
If Kessler's challenge wasn't tough enough against the Dolphins defense, he just lost the team's leading receiver. Coleman had seven catches for 173 yards — a 24.7 average per catch — in Cleveland's first two games.
It's been a rough few days for the Browns, who also lost starting center Cam Erving with a bruised lung and promising rookie defensive end Carl Nassib with a broken hand in Sunday's game against the Ravens.
Erving spent one night in the hospital. He returned to the team's facility on Wednesday, but there's no timetable on his return. Nassib underwent surgery and it's possible he could return in the coming weeks and play with a protective cast.
When he met with reporters following practice, Browns coach Hue Jackson didn't yet know the extent of Coleman's injury.
In fact, Jackson joked that he was expecting another big performance from him like the one he got Sunday.
"Two touchdowns, five catches, over 100 yards. Keep doing that for me, baby, and we are right on," Jackson said.
Sadly for the Browns, Coleman won't be doing that again anytime soon.
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