Joel Bitonio Returns To Practice, Considered Questionable For Sunday

Browns All-Pro guard Joel Bitonio is the latest offensive lineman to go down with an injury, but he hopes to play through a back ailment this weekend with a playoff berth on the line

Friday brought a sight a sore eyes at the Browns facility in Berea, as All Pro guard Joel Bitonio made his first appearance on the practice field this week as he works his way back from a back injury.

Bitonio injured his back in pregame warmups last weekend against the Bears and attempted to play through the ailment. Three series into the game though, the 32-year-old fell to a knee and ultimately left the field with trainers. He never returned to the game, leading to his did not practice status on Wednesday and Thursday.

Joel Bitonio back at practice, Friday for #Browns. Looked like he was trying to loosen up the back every so often but appears to be pushing through pic.twitter.com/tvfaMTorfn

— 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@Spencito_) December 22, 2023

On Friday he was seen participating in offensive line drills but seemed to still be favoring his back. The injury will leave him listed as questionable questionable for Sunday's road matchup with the Texans.

"He's gonna continue to work through that the next 48 hours," head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "I think it's important to see how he responds. We've got a plane trip coming up. But he's continuing to fight to make it."

While Cleveland hopes to have Bitonio back out there, they already know they'll be without four players this weekend. The team ruled out safety Juan Thornhill (calf),  defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo (pectoral) and linebackers Jordan Kunaszyk (calf) and Anthony Walker Jr. (knee).

Walker Jr. is particularly concerning considering he started the week limited for the team's Wednesday walk through but trended in the wrong direction as the week progressed. 

Stefanski provided wouldn't specify if Walker Jr. would need surgery for his injury, leaving a bit of murkiness about his status beyond Week 16.

"Unfortunately he has something going on with his knee," the Browns head coach said. "We'll continue to work through it with him. Disappointed he's not going to make it this week. We'll update you over the next couple days."

On a positive note, starting center Ethan Pocic was a full participant to close out the week of practice. He suffered a stinger in Cleveland win over Jacksonville and sat out last week. At the very least, the Browns will be getting back one key member of the offensive line even if it turns out Bitonio can't play.