With their week six game only four days away, two of the Cleveland Browns better players missed practice on Wednesday. Starting center Alex Mack and starting cornerback Joe Haden did not practice as they recover from injuries.
Mack is still recovering from an emergency appendectomy that he underwent one day after the Browns week four game against the Tennessee Titans. Meanwhile, Haden is attempting to recover from a knee injury that he sustained in the Browns loss to the Titans in week four.
Browns coach Pat Shurmur declined to state whether or not either of the players would be ready to play this Sunday when the Browns travel to Oakland to take on the Raiders. While it is never a good sign when a player misses a practice this close to a game, Shurmur stated that he remains hopeful that one or both of the players could still play in the game against the Raiders.
If one or both of these players miss the game, it could be a big benefit for the Raiders. Alex Mack is the second best offensive lineman on the team after Joe Thomas. In addition, center is a very important position as the center is the player who is responsible for calling out blocking assignments and essentially being the leader of the offensive line. Joe Haden is clearly the Browns best defensive back. Though he does not have any interceptions yet this year, he finished his rookie season with six, and already has 8 pass deflections this season.
Only time will tell if either of these two key players for the Browns will be able to suit up against the Raiders, but it does not look good so far.