KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Cleveland Browns announced their list of inactive players for the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs and among them is one star wide receiver who many were looking forward to seeing on the field Sunday.
Odell Beckham Jr., who has been rehabbing from a knee injury and surgery from last season, entered Sunday's game listed as questionable but when the final injury report came in Sunday afternoon, Beckham was listed as inactive.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Friday that Beckham has not had a setback in terms of his rehab from his knee surgery but that they'd discuss between then and Sunday his status for the first game of the season.
“I think he was limited today so we'll use the next 48 hours with all of these guys and determine who is playing and who is not. We'll let you know 90 minutes before the game,” Stefanski said.
Beckham participated in warmups at Arrowhead Stadium but was ruled out afterward.
With Beckham out, wide receiver Donovan-People's Jones will get the start Sunday.
In addition to Beckham, the following players have been listed as inactive ahead of the game:
- K Chris Naggar
- S Grant Delpit
- LB Tony Fields II
- T James Hudson III
- G Michael Dunn
- DT Tommy Togiai
Several players were on the Browns injury report Friday, including Beckham, safety Ronnie Harrison, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, center JC Tretter and Delpit. Harrison is working through an ankle injury, Clowney has been dealing with an illness, Tretter is dealing with a knee injury and Delpit is working through a hamstring injury.
Of the players listed as questionable, only Delpit was ruled out. Dunn and Fields had been previously ruled out of the game.
Naggar was elevated to the active roster from the practice squad after kicker Chase McLaughlin wound up on the injury report after practice Friday with a hamstring injury, but McLaughlin has been cleared ahead of Sunday's matchup, rendering Naggar inactive.
Rookie cornerback Greg Newsome II is expected to start Sunday, the team announced.
Linebacker Malcolm Smith will serve as the game captain Sunday.
The Chiefs have listed the following players as inactive for the game:
- CB DeAndre Baker
- S Tyrann Mathieu
- DE Frank Clark
- OL Austin Blythe
- G Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
- WR Daurice Fountain
Mathieu was activated from the Chiefs' Reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday before the 4 p.m. deadline for them to do so, but was listed as questionable heading into the game after missing more than a week of practice. He was ruled out before kickoff.
Clark, defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi were also listed as questionable with a hamstring injury and a hip injury, respectively. Clark was ruled out Sunday. Blythe had already been ruled out of the game with an abdomen injury ahead of Sunday's inactives announcement.
The Browns kick things off with the Chiefs at 4:25 p.m.
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Camryn Justice is a digital content producer at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Twitter @camijustice.
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