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Notable Cleveland Browns Defender Returning To Practice Off IR Stint

The Browns received some positive injury news ahead of Week 7 with Juan Thornhill returning to practice following a calf injury

Spencer German

Browns safety Juan Thornhill (1) participates in drills during minicamp, Thursday, June 13, 2024, in Berea.
Browns safety Juan Thornhill (1) participates in drills during minicamp, Thursday, June 13, 2024, in Berea. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Injuries have piled up for the Cleveland Browns since Week 1 of the season, but slowly but surely players have started to work their way back to the field.

Safety Juan Thornhill is the latest player gearing up for a return. After suffering a calf injury following the Browns season opener against the Dallas Cowboys and spending the last five weeks on the injured reserve, Thornhill was officially designated to return to practice on Wednesday. That means he'll have 21 days from Oct 16 to officially be activated to the 53-man roster or he'll revert back to the IR and miss the remainder of the season.

This is the second consecutive season that Thornhill has been hindered by a calf injury. The 28-year-old suffered a calf ailment in the team's final preseason game ahead of the 2023 campaign last year and wound up missing six games for Cleveland as he attempted to play through it.

The former Chiefs defensive back played the majority of the Browns defensive snaps (95%) in Week 1 before landing on the IR several days later. It was an unfortunate turn of events for the starting safety who said prior to the season that he was feeling the healthiest he had in a while.

Thornhill will be the third player to return to practice off the IR this season, joining linebacker Mohamoud Diabte and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, who practiced last week for the first time after missing four games. Both Diabate and Hurst were activated to the 53-man roster ahead of last Sunday's loss to the Eagles.

Meanwhile, star running back Nick Chubb is expected to make a long-awaited return to the field this week against the Cincinnati Bengals. off the team's physically unable to perform list. Chubb has been rehabbing from a gruesome knee injury suffered in last year's Week 2 loss to the Steelers for over a year. It's unclear at this time if Thornhill will join him come Sunday.

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Spencer German
SPENCER GERMAN

Spencer German is a contributor to the Northeast Ohio cluster of sites, including Cavs Insider, Cleveland Baseball Insider and most notably Browns Digest. He also works as a fill-in host on Cleveland Sports Radio, 92.3 The Fan, one of the Browns radio affiliate stations in Cleveland. Despite being a Cleveland transplant, Spencer has enjoyed making Northeast Ohio home ever since he attended college locally at John Carroll University, where he graduated in 2013.

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