BROWNS COACH WILL MISS PLAYOFF GAME
Two days after celebrating their return to the NFL playoffs, the Cleveland Browns were knocked f lat.
COVID-19 will keep coach Kevin Stefanski and at least two players, one a Pro Bowler, out of the team’s first playoff game since the 2002 season.
The Browns announced Tuesday — 18 years to the day since their last playoff game — that Stefanski tested positive for the coronavirus, which has plagued the team in recent weeks and now is causing a major disruption as Cleveland prepares to play Pittsburgh on Sunday for the second straight week.
Just 48 hours ago, the Browns and their fans were overjoyed when the team ended the league’s longest playoff drought with a 24-22 win over the Steelers, who rested quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and others to be fresh for the playoffs.
Now, the Browns are launching contingency plans that have been in place since the pandemic began.
Stefanski tested positive along with Pro Bowl left guard Joel Bitonio, wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge and more two coaching staff members, tight ends coach Drew Petzing and defensive backs coach Jeff Howard. The Browns already had six players and three other assistants on the reserve COVID-19 list.
Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer will be the acting head coach Sunday.
Browns center and NFLPA President JC Tretter called Stefanski’s loss “huge.” Tretter has been in touch with Bitonio, the team’s longest tenured player, who has been through years of losing only to have his first taste of the playoffs end abruptly.
“I feel for him and all the guys who won’t be able to play,” Tretter said on a Zoom call. “Extremely tough, terrible scenario for him and everyone involved.”
NFL rules state that anyone testing positive must be away from the team at least 10 days.
League spokesman Brian McCarthy said there is no change to the status of Sunday night’s game in Pittsburgh. He added the league is continuing to conduct contact tracing to identify any possible high-risk close contacts.
The Browns also placed valuable defensive end Olivier Vernon and rookie guard Nick Harris on injured reserve Tuesday.
Hall finalists
Peyton Manning, no surprise, is among 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2021.
The star quarterback, owner of a record five NFL Most Valuable Player awards and two Super Bowl titles, was the first finalist revealed by the hall on Tuesday night.
Joining Manning as a finalist was one of the players he threw to, wide receiver Reggie Wayne, a finalist for the second time. Firstyear eligible Calvin Johnson and second-time finalist Torry Holt also made the cut among receivers.
Wayne played in two Super Bowls with Manning.
Four defensive backs, including current 49ers General Manager John Lynch, advanced. This will be Lynch’s eighth time as a finalist, while it’s the first for Charles Woodson in his initial year of eligibility, and Ronde Barber, and the second for appearance in the finals for Leroy Butler.
Two of the NFL’s most dependable defensive linemen got to the finals: sack master Jared Allen and versatile Richard Seymour. Allen, who had 136 sacks and forced four safeties, is another first-year eligible player, while Seymour has made the finals for three of his four eligible years.
Zach Thomas, who also excelled on special teams, was one of three linebackers making the finals, joining Sam Mills — a star in the USFL and then the NFL — and Clay Matthews, who led some strong Cleveland defenses from 1978-1993 before playing three season in Atlanta. Thomas and Mills became second-time finalists, and Matthews for the first time.
Notable
The Texans are hiring longtime Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio as their next general manager, a source told ESPN.
Giants defensive coordinator Pat Graham signed a contract extension and is adding the title assistant head coach.
• The Falcons interviewed Brad Holmes, the Rams’ director of college scouting, for Atlanta’s general manager position.