Center Austin Reiter played well for the Browns in his NFL regular-season debut Sunday, but he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee with 3:14 left in the fourth quarter of a 31-20 loss to Washington at FedExField.
Coach Hue Jackson confirmed Reiter's season-ending injury Monday.
"He did an outstanding job. I was extremely happy and pleased with his play," Jackson said. "He battled. He gave us an opportunity to run the ball extremely well. He did a great job in directing protections and doing those things, so it was unfortunate he got hurt because I think he was doing some really good things as a young player that we went and found and put on our football team. So hopefully he can get healthy and get back."
The Browns will look to acquire help at center, but right guard John Greco will be the first candidate to start at center, Jackson said. Alvin Bailey could start at right guard because Jackson said the punishment he'll receive from the team stemming from his Sept. 26 arrest is over.
"We’ll do everything we can to see if we can improve in that area [at center]," Jackson said. "And if not, obviously Greco would be the first guy up in that spot."
Quarterback Josh McCown (fractured left collarbone) and center Cameron Erving (bruised lung) will remain sidelined Sunday when the Browns (0-4) host the New England Patriots (3-1). They have missed the past two games.
"Those guys will definitely still be down this week," Jackson said.
So rookie quarterback Cody Kessler will make his third consecutive start for the Browns.
Rookie defensive end Carl Nassib (surgically repaired broken left hand) will return to practice this week.
"We’ll hope to get him back," Jackson said.
Strong safety Ibraheim Campbell (hamstring) is expected to have his workload "ramped up a little bit" in practice, Jackson added.
Nassib and Campbell have missed the past two games.
Tight end Randall Telfer suffered a high-ankle sprain against Washington, Jackson said.
"Randall’s been doing such a good job," Jackson said. "We’ll keep moving forward and continue to put whoever’s the next guy up in those positions."
The Browns may promote tight end Connor Hamlett from their practice squad with Telfer and rookie tight end Seth DeValve (left knee) sidelined.
Quarterback Robert Griffin III will have his broken left shoulder re-evaluated this week, Jackson said.
The Browns placed Griffin on IR on Sept. 12 with a fractured coracoid bone in his left shoulder suffered Sept. 11 in a 29-10, season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The team expected Griffin to need at least 8-12 weeks to recover but it also knows he could very well be out for the rest of the season. He may need surgery.