Set to take place two days after it was originally scheduled, the Week 15 Las Vegas Raiders vs. Cleveland Browns matchup will go down on Monday. Arguably no game this season has had more focus on the injury reports than this one between. Let’s take a look at who is on the injury report and who the Browns and Raiders have ruled out due to COVID-19.
Raiders vs. Browns injury report
In what has been a strange week for both the Raiders and Browns, what is the state of their injury reports heading into their Monday matchup? Which players could we yet see, and who has been ruled out already?
Baker Mayfield, Jarvis Landry, and Kareem Hunt will all miss the Browns game Monday
Cleveland’s problems have not so much come from their injury report. Their issues are a product of positive COVID tests among players on their roster. Two key players have been ruled out through injury in Kareem Hunt and Greg Newsome. Hunt is managing an ankle injury, and Newsome remains in the concussion protocol. Hunt also tested positive for COVID and is currently on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
The list of Browns players set to miss their game Monday is long. The key names include both of their top two QBs in Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum. Therefore, Nick Mullens will start for Cleveland in Week 15 after being added from the practice squad this week. The Browns hoped to get Mayfield or Keenum back, but both failed to test out of the protocols.
There are a number of other key players that the Browns will be missing this week. Those include DE Jadeveon Clowney, CB Troy Hill, LB Mack Wilson, DT Malik McDowell, S Ronnie Harrison Jr., OTs Jedrick Wills Jr. and James Hudson, TE Austin Hooper, and WR Jarvis Landry. To see the full list of players the Browns will be missing, check out our NFL COVID tracker.
Additionally, the Browns will be without head coach Kevin Stefanski. While not impacting the game directly, Stefanski will be a big loss for the Browns. The second-year head coach won the AP NFL Coach of the Year award in 2020. This is the second game he has missed in two seasons due to a positive COVID test. The last time he was absent, the Browns beat the Steelers 48-37 in the 2020 NFL playoffs.
The Raiders injury report is headlined by Darren Waller’s absence
Week 15 will see Darren Waller miss his third straight game and the fourth this season. He is struggling with knee and back injuries and was originally ruled out on Thursday for the game Saturday. Any slither of hope he might be able to play when the NFL postponed the game was stamped out when he was labeled a non-participant Saturday and confirmed as out. It remains to be seen whether the Raiders TE might return for Week 16.
The Raiders have also ruled out two other players this week in Denzel Perryman and Trayvon Mullen Jr. Perryman is struggling with an ankle injury, while Mullen deals with a toe injury. The defense could also be without pass rusher Carl Nassib, who is questionable with a knee injury.