Notes: Denzel Ward misses practice with shoulder injury, could be back 'pretty soon'

BEREA — The Browns' top cornerback could be shelved for a bit.Denzel Ward did not practice Wednesday, one day after the four-time Pro Bowler hurt his right shoulder during a one-on-one drill. Ward fell after covering receiver Jerry Jeudy on a route. He got to his feet and appeared to be in pain while being treated before leaving the field for more evaluation and treatment.Coach Kevin Stefanski didn't provide much of an update on the 28-year-old Ward, one of the league's premier cornerbacks. However, he intimated the injury is not serious."Doing well," Stefanski said. "Expecting to be out here, back out there pretty soon."Stefanski was asked if Ward would be OK for Week 1 against the Bengals on Sept. 7."He's day-to-day, he's doing well, should be," he said.The Browns can't afford to be without Ward for long. Cleveland's secondary is already missing a key component after starting cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon last month. Greg Newsome II was sidelined several weeks with a shoulder issue but returned to practice Monday."He's as important as it gets," star defensive end Myles Garrett said of Ward. "Rush and coverage work together. That's my brother out there. I can't do what I do without him and vice versa. So I'm glad to see him come back in the building and doing well, but we just have to be careful and take care of ourselves and pick our brothers up."SANDERS BACKRookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders practiced for the first time since suffering an oblique injury Aug. 13. He participated in individual and team drills.The setback kept the heralded fifth-round pick from playing in last week's exhibition game in Philadelphia. Stefanski was noncommittal on whether Sanders, who had a strong pro debut, will see any action in the preseason finale Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams.Stefanski wants to see how Sanders responds after the "limited" workout before making any decisions.Backup QB Kenny Pickett will not play against the Rams as he continues to recover from a nagging hamstring injury. Stefanski would only say that Pickett "continues to progress."Joe Flacco, named the starting QB for the season opener against Cincinnati, is expected to play some against the Rams. Stefanski intends to reveal his plans with the other starters Thursday.INJURY REPORTWide receiver Cedric Tillman sat out and had a soft brace on his right wrist. Stefanski said he's dealing with a thumb issue."Not long term," the coach said.** Linebacker Mohamoud Diabate worked on the side.** Linebacker Winston Reid did not practice for the second day in a row with a back injury.** Cornerback Chigozie Anusiem returned to individual drills after missing more than a week.HEARTWARMING SIGHTInjured linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah attended practice, watching intently from the sideline. One of the team's most popular players, JOK is out for the season after suffering a serious neck injury while making a tackle last year against Baltimore.Although not in uniform, Owusu-Koramoah's impact is immeasurable."A huge part of this football team," Stefanski said. "He's a huge part of who we are and what we strive to be. So always fun to have him out here. He'll be out here hopefully a good bit, but he'll be visiting us and doing some work with us. We love having Jeremiah out here."DEMANDING DUCEDuce Staley is toughening up his backs.Known as a rugged runner during his NFL playing career, Staley, who is in his second season as Cleveland's running backs coach, puts his players through demanding drills during the early portion of each practice — and sometimes afterward.On Tuesday, Staley had his group run extra sprints following practice while carrying weighted footballs.The sideline-to-sideline "gassers: are designed to build stamina, and fourth-year back Jerome Ford said they help."I feel like there's a long way to go to be able to play 40, 50 plays a game, and I think with the conditioning, it ain't gonna do nothing but help us," Ford said. "We gonna continue to do it."Among Staley's other workouts are having Cleveland's backs run in place while holding up 35-pound weights and several drills using resistance bands to help strengthen their legs. In one of the drills, the running backs break into pairs and take turns holding each other in place.It looks tortuous. It's not Ford's favorite."Between me and Duce, I feel like we need to retire the drill," Ford said with a smile. "It's a little heavy on the legs. But in all honesty, it's a great drill. It helps us get ready for collisions. It helps us get ready to use weapons when we out in traffic, helps us with ball security."And it's a little bit of conditioning, too. It's a great drill. It is tiring. It can be hell sometimes, but I think it's one of those things that's gonna get us better in the long run."MINOR SWAPAs practice was wrapping up in a light rain, the Browns announced they traded defensive tackle Jowon Briggs to the New York Jets,Cleveland received a sixth-round pick in 2026 in exchange for Briggs and a seventh-round pick the Browns got from Buffalo.Briggs played in six games as a rookie last season after being selected in the seventh round from Cincinnati.The post Notes: Denzel Ward misses practice with shoulder injury, could be back 'pretty soon' first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.