Browns activate Wyatt Teller from COVID-19 list in time to face Raiders

The Browns have at least one starting offensive lineman back for Monday's home game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Right guard Wyatt Teller was activated Sunday from the reserve/COVID-19 list, the Browns announced. Teller tested positive for the virus Tuesday.

The Browns have two other starting offensive linemen who are still on the COVID-19 list — left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. and rookie right tackle James Hudson III, who has been filling in since All-Pro Jack Conklin suffered a season-ending ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee Nov. 28 against the Baltimore Ravens.

Blake Hance and Michael Dunn are candidates to start at the tackle spots if Wills and Hudson aren't available to face the Raiders (6-7) in a game the Browns (7-6) need to win to stay in the thick of the playoff hunt.

Alex Taylor is another option. Guard is the natural NFL position of Hance and Dunn. Taylor is a tackle, though he has never started in the league.

The Browns promoted Taylor from their practice squad Sunday, when the team also announced it signed safety Adrian Colbert to the practice squad and placed starting defensive end Jadeveon Clowney on the COVID-19 list.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Jadeveon Clowney will likely sit out vs. Raiders due to COVID-19

The move involving Clowney became a formality after he tested positive for COVID-19, a development reported Friday. Before Clowney had tested positive, he sat out Thursday's practice with an illness, coach Kevin Stefanski said, so the player was symptomatic. That's relevant because it means Clowney is unlikely to be activated in time to face the Raiders.

The Browns have until 2 p.m. Monday to make transactions for their 5 p.m. kickoff versus the Raiders at FirstEnergy Stadium. The game had originally been scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Saturday, but the NFL and NFL Players Association agreed Friday to postpone it until Monday evening because of Cleveland's COVID-19 outbreak.

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There are 23 players and three coaches, including Stefanski, sidelined for the Browns due to COVID-19, but new protocols adopted Thursday by the NFL and NFLPA have increased the likelihood some vaccinated, asymptomatic members of the franchise will be able to test off the COVID-19 list in time to face the Raiders.

Because of new rules established Saturday by the NFL and NFLPA, the Browns are not required to test their vaccinated, asymptomatic players in the buildup to Monday's game unless a player who fits into that category has been identified as a high-risk contact of someone who has tested positive.

Teller and No. 3 defensive end Takk McKinley are Browns players who have benefited from the new rules about testing off the COVID-19 list.

McKinley was activated Saturday after landing on the list Tuesday. With Clowney on the list, McKinley is positioned to start opposite All-Pro Myles Garrett. The Browns have 35 sacks this season, led by Garrett's 15 and Clowney's five. McKinley has 2½ sacks.

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Browns spokesperson Peter John-Baptiste said in a statement Friday "every member of our organization who has recently tested positive was vaccinated, the majority of which are currently asymptomatic or experiencing mild symptoms."

In other words, the Browns have reason to believe they can get some other players back from the COVID-19 list in time for a crucial meeting with the Raiders.

Quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum remain on the list. If neither of them returns in time for Monday's game, third-string quarterback Nick Mullens will start versus the Raiders.

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John Johnson III, Ronnie Harrison Jr. and Grant Delpit are the Browns' primary safeties, and they all remain on the COVID-19 list.

M.J. Stewart and rookie Richard LeCounte are their backups, but Colbert could play, too.

A seventh-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2017, Colbert has started 22 of the 37 regular-season games in which he has appeared and compiled 98 tackles, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He started three of his four games with the New York Jets this season.

Jovante Moffatt and Tedric Thompson are other safeties on the Browns' practice squad.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns activate Wyatt Teller from COVID-19 list to face Raiders