Hubbard placed on COVID list

Game with Texans on Nov. 15 is still on

Browns offensive lineman Chris Hubbard on Nov. 13 was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Browns offensive lineman Chris Hubbard on Nov. 13 was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but no other players are joining him, so the game with the Houston Texans will proceed Nov. 15 as scheduled.

Earlier in the day, the Browns announced an unidentified player tested positive for COVID.

They temporarily closed their training facility in Berea while they conducted contact tracing to learn if any coaches, staff members or teammates had “highrisk” close contact with the player.

The tracing was completed with zero “high risk” close-contacts being identified, the team announced around 2:30 p.m., adding the facility would reopen and practice would begin at 3 p.m. — about 2 ½ hours later than normal on a Friday.

Cornerback Denzel Ward and linebacker Sione Takitaki were not cleared in time for the Nov. 13 practice but both are expected

back in team headquarters Nov. 14.

The Browns simultaneously announced Hubbard was being placed on the COVID-19 list. NFL protocols stipulate a player testing positive must remain isolated at least 10 days from the date of the test, which would mean missing the game with Eagles on Nov. 22 at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The only real question mark heading into the game with the Texans at 1 p.m. at FirstEnergy Stadium involves running back Nick Chubb. His situation is unrelated to the COVID-19 scare.

Chubb is returning from a knee injury that sidelined him four games, and though he practiced all week, Coach Kevin Stefanski after practice wasn’t ready to say Chubb will absolutely play

against the Texans. Chubb does not appear on the injury report because he has not officially been activated from injured reserve.

“We wanted to use each one of these days to see how he responded each day,” Stefanski said. “He hit all the benchmarks, so it’s just a matter of making sure we’re on the same page and making sure he’s ready to go.

“If he’s ready, he’ll be out there. If we feel he’s not ready this week, we’ll make that decision.”

Stefanski said he wants to meet with Chubb, trainer Joe Sheehan and the medical staff before activating Chubb, who has 57 carries for 339 yards (a 5.9-yard average) and four touchdowns.

The contact tracing triggered by the positive COVID test caused a minor

disruption in the normal Friday procedure, but the Browns have been prepared for such an event since the start of training camp.

“We’ve tried to go above and beyond the protocols,” Stefanski said after practice. “We met virtually this morning, which we were doing already. The mask wearing is mandatory like it is in every building.

“This is 2020. Things are going to come your way and you have to react. We got our work in and we got all the reps we were supposed to get. It was just a little bit darker out there.”

Hubbard started the last three games at right guard while Wyatt Teller mended from a calf injury. Teller has recovered and will start against Houston.