Browns' Walker has knee surgery, status unclear

BEREA, Ohio — Browns starting linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. had arthroscopic knee surgery, knocking him out of Sunday's game at Houston and putting his playing status in question as Cleveland aims for a playoff berth.The team said Friday that Walker, one of the captains, had the procedure on Thursday and he'll be evaluated on a weekly basis going forward. The Browns (9-5) have three regular-season games remaining.Walker missed last week's win over Chicago, just days after he tweaked his knee in practice. The 28-year-old Walker spoke to reporters earlier this week and said he was making progress while never mentioning the possibility of surgery.Walker usually handles play calls for the NFL's top-ranked defense. He's recorded 44 tackles and recovered two fumbles in 12 games. He missed Cleveland's game on Nov. 26 with a hamstring injury."Big loss," said linebacker Sione Takitaki. "He's a captain on the defensive side, leader, one of those vocal guys that keeps everything in line. We'll feel his loss but we'll make sure that everybody else picks up."Next-man-up type of league. The other leaders lead and fill in where his presence was felt. So just got confidence in the whole defense to come in and keep going."Walker's injury is just the latest for the Browns, who have been ravaged by injuries since Week 1. Cleveland is on its fourth quarterback, without star running back Nick Chubb and playing backups at both offensive tackles.Browns All-Pro left guard Joel Bitonio practiced again Friday and is listed as questionable to face the Texans. Bitonio was forced out of last week's game in the first quarter with back spasms.Coach Kevin Stefanski didn't comment directly on how Bitonio looked in practice."He's going to continue to work through that the next 48 hours," Stefanski said. "I think it's important to see how he responds. He got a plane ride coming up but he's continuing to fight to make it."The Browns have ruled out defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo (pectoral) and safety Juan Thornhill (calf) for Sunday. Browns face Keenum Joe Flacco will make his fourth start for the Browns on Sunday after the 38-year-old quarterback came off the couch to join the team Nov. 20. The Texans (8-6) will start journeyman Case Keenum for a second straight week with C.J. Stroud still recovering from a concussion he suffered on Dec. 10.Keenum threw for 229 yards with a touchdown and an interception last week in his first action of the season and his first start since the 2021 season to help Houston to a 19-16 overtime victory at Tennessee.He has won three three straight starts for Houston after leading the Texans to victories in the final two games of the 2014 season.Stefanski is quite familiar with Keenum after the 35-year-old quarterback played for the Browns in 2020 and 2021."Case comes in last week, starts and wins. That's what he does," Stefanski said. Keenum, who has played for seven teams in his 11-year NFL career, laughed when asked about facing a former team."The chances of me playing against an old team are a little higher than most people because I have a lot of old teams," Keenum said. "So, I have had to answer this a bunch because I played a lot of my old teams in the past." Working 9-5Myles Garrett's due for a monster game. Overdue, actually.Cleveland's star defensive end has gone four games without a sack, but it's not for a lack of effort. Garrett has grown increasingly frustrated with the officiating in recent weeks, leading him to openly criticize the crew following a recent game against Jacksonville, comments which led to him being fined $25,000 by the NFL.Garrett bit his tongue after last week's game against Chicago despite some blatant holding penalties by the Bears that went uncalled. Although he's often double- and triple-teamed, Garrett has been a force on virtually every snap, leading Stefanski to say the 27-year-old should be a runaway choice for Defensive Player of the Year honors."I don't know that there's anybody in the same realm as him," he said. "The way Myles is playing is unbelievable."Houston coach DeMeco Ryans agreed and raved about Garrett, who played collegiately at Texas A&M, about 100 miles from NRG Stadium."How do you handle such a tremendous player," Ryans said. "They do a great job of moving him around as well, so he's not just always on the edge. Myles is an exceptional talent – truly generational talent who's done great things in the league."Talking playoffsIt's remote, but the Browns could wrap up a playoff berth – just their second since 2002 – before unwrapping any Christmas presents.The NFL released postseason clinching scenarios this week, and the Browns are involved in eight, but they all include a win over the Texans.While it would be natural to begin thinking about the postseason, the Browns are intent on respecting Stefanski's "Go 1-0" credo, which has served the team well so far in a challenging season."Everybody here has social media and all that stuff, so we see everything," said linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. "But that's when you've got to narrow your focus to the one-game season and one game at a time and every game matters. We understand that."We put ourselves in that position to make it where every game matters and where you play meaningful football in December and January." CLEVELAND (9-5) at HOUSTON (8-6)TIME/TV: Sunday, 1 p.m., CBSSERIES RECORD: Texans lead 7-6.LAST MEETING: Browns beat Texans 27-14 on Dec. 4, 2022, in Houston.LAST WEEK: Browns beat Bears 20-17; Texans beat Titans 19-16 in OT.TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Browns minus-7; Texans plus-8.KEY MATCHUP: Browns DE Myles Garrett vs. Texans RT George Fant and LT Laremy Tunsil. Cleveland's star has been switching sides more frequently as Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz tries to get him into more 1-on-1 matchups. It usually takes two — and sometimes three — to block Garrett, but Tunsil one of the NFL's best has more than held his own in previous matchups.KEY INJURIES: Like the Texans, the Browns have been hit hard by major injuries. Last week, they lost both starting tackles, a safety and two defensive linemen for the season. ... Browns All-Pro LG Joel Bitonio (back) should return after leaving last week's game in the first quarter. … Houston DE Will Anderson, the third overall in the draft, could miss a second straight game with an ankle injury. … WR Nico Collins sat out last week with a hamstring injury but returned to practice this week and should play. SERIES NOTES: Cleveland has won three straight in the series. … The Texans won five in a row against the Browns before their current skid. … These teams first met in Houston's inaugural season in 2002 when the Browns got a 34-17 victory in Cleveland.STATS AND STUFF: The Browns are closing in on just their second playoff berth since 2002. A win all but guarantees them a wild-card spot. ... The Browns have only reached double-digit wins twice (2007, 2020) since 1999. ... Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is 9-0 vs. the AFC South. ... WR Amari Cooper needs 15 yards for his seventh career 1,000-yard season. ... Of K Dustin Hopkins' league-high 33 field goals, four have been game-winners. Last week, his 34-yarder with 32 seconds left gave the Browns their first lead of the game. ... Houston RB Devin Singletary had a career-high 170 yards of offense last week, the most by a running back in franchise history since Lamar Miller had 178 in 2016. Singletary had 97 yards of offense in his previous game against Cleveland last season with Buffalo. … WR Noah Brown had eight receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown last week. … DE Jonathan Greenard led the team with 2½ sacks and forced a fumble last week. He has a career-high 12½ sacks this season. … DT Maliek Collins had five tackles and 1½ sacks last week. … CB Desmond King led the team with a career-high 11 tackles and had two tackles for losses and a sack against Tennessee. … CB Steven Nelson had his fourth interception of the season last week.