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  • Cleveland reopened their facility for practice on Wednesday afternoon after closing it earlier in the day to conduct contact tracing.

  • What's the latest there?

  • Ryan.

  • Problematic.

  • It reopened yesterday afternoon, as you mentioned, and now they will go and see if it's spread.

  • But I think the test last night would be key to see if there's further spread.

  • Now we go back to this past weekend, the Browns entire wide receiver unit was essentially wiped out, and they headed to New York for a big game against the Jets, where they didn't have.

  • They're wide receivers that they needed Jarvis, Landry, Donovan, People's Jones, Rashard Higgins, Carter El Hajj.

  • So they were missing some key players.

  • Now, yesterday, there were more positive test that turned up, and so they're hoping that the virus has been contained.

  • But they should get further clarity as the week goes on.

  • And wouldn't that be something to go through an entire NFL season without a single cancelation on Lee to have it's playoff schedule on the final weekend of the season be disrupted.

  • Somehow, with the events in Cleveland, the Browns are hoping that's not the case.

  • The NFL is hoping that's not the case.

  • But I could tell you that everybody is closely monitoring the events in Cleveland as they're unfolding now.

  • Adam with last week and now what's happening now?

  • I have to think the concern levels pretty high there.

  • Oh, there's no question, right?

  • Listen, Theo NFL's come really far, and the last thing the league and the Browns one, especially when the Browns are on the cusp of their first playoff appearance in almost two decades, is to have something spoil it at the end.

  • And again, they're trying to see if this is contained.

  • We should have further answers the rest of this week.

  • All right, Lewis, I want to turn to you.

  • Lewis, Nick joining us now.

  • Alright, so big Ben out on Sunday.

  • What are your thoughts on this being A must win for Baker in the Brown?

  • All of this.

  • It's games that they have had in years because their playoff life hangs in the balance and they can control their own destiny with a win here.

  • And when you look at it, this without Ben Roethlisberger playing in this football game, the last thing that this team wants to do, provided that they are able tohave, their full complement or something close to their full complement of wide receivers is to lose a game with a lot on the line.

  • This is exactly what people are looking for from the Browns for them, the wind, the big games when it matters the most when there's a lot at stake.

  • The last time I saw them in person obviously was that game against the Baltimore Raymond's on Monday Night Football, and they came up just short.

  • But people thought, and I thought that they had turned the corner at that point that they understood that.

  • Now it really has shifted from hope, the expectations.

  • People expect this football team to be good.

  • So if if Jarvis Landry is able to play Kodaira Hodges able to play Rashad Rashard Higgins is able to play dominant people's.

  • Jones is able to play Dedrick Wills their stuff.

  • He's practicing Wyatt Teller, one of their best office alignment.

  • He's practicing.

  • If they're bull strength.

  • I expected to win this football game and would be very disappointed.

  • I think a lot of people would be let down if they don't concerning everything that's on the line.

  • Yeah, and you talk about going from hope to expectations.

  • That's all shifted in a matter of weeks, if not just this season.

  • So, Nique, let's say they're at full strength.

  • What do they need to do in order to win this game?

  • Well, I mean, I think it's obvious there's no secret that the Cleveland Browns offense it's predicated on how well they run the ball, so they need to get back to doing that.

  • It's not a very modern way to think about football, but, ah, lot of the best offenses, especially when you have a quarterback like Baker Mayfield, who is very, very good when things were going well and not so good.

  • When things when it's too much pressure on them, I think it's important to establish that running attack, build the play action off of it and let Baker get comfortable because you're probably gonna need them in late late stretches in the game, even though the Steelers are not putting their best effort out there necessarily and not putting their best players out there and probably aren't even game planning to the degree that they would if this was a must win game like it is for the Browns.

  • You're still gonna get the Steelers.

  • The Steelers.

  • They're still gonna play hard.

  • They still have a lot of great talent on offense and defense.

  • So Baker is gonna have to make some plays late in the game.

  • You just don't wanna ask him to make too many early in the game, Adam.

  • I see you chopping at the bit.

  • Jump back in.

  • Well, what's interesting here is that as difficult to situation as this is for the Cleveland Browns, the Browns couldn't ask for any better timing on the schedule.

  • The NFL basically gift, wrapped it to them for the holidays Jets last week, and they couldn't capitalize.

  • And the Pittsburgh Steelers, at the absolute right time when the Steelers haven't gotten a by this year due to the Cove it crisis.

  • And they had to basically go through their season without getting the by.

  • They wanted and, well, basically use this game as an unofficial by to rest players like Ben Roethlisberger and some of the other players.

  • And so, if you're the Cleveland Browns and ever need toe play the Pittsburgh Steelers and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, this is the time, and this is the week to do it.

  • They're trying to make it easy for Cleveland.

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Cleveland reopened their facility for practice on Wednesday afternoon after closing it earlier in the day to conduct contact tracing.

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