1. Josh McCown prepared, ready to resume starting role
Josh McCown made it clear Wednesday he didn't want to resume his role as the Browns starting quarterback under these circumstances, but his confidence is high entering a game as healthy as he's been in more than a month.
McCown will make his eighth start of the season, first since Nov. 1, against Arizona, when the Browns face the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football. He was slated to be the team's backup last week, but Browns coach Mike Pettine reversed his decision to name Johnny Manziel the starter in light of events that transpired during the bye weekend.
"You have to serve your team and do the job that the coaches ask you to do," McCown said. "We will move forward and do that."
McCown was inactive for Cleveland's past two games because of injuries to his throwing shoulder and ribs. He pushed himself to be ready for both games but was ultimately sidelined, leaving Manziel as the starter and Austin Davis as the backup.
McCown, who threw for a franchise-record 457 yards and led the Browns to their last victory when they faced the Ravens in Week 5, said Tuesday the time off has allowed him to improve "a good deal" but confessed he wouldn't truly know where he's at until he takes his first hit against the Ravens.
The added energy of a Monday Night Football environment should add to McCown's adrenaline level.
"Turn the lights on and put the stripes on the field, you have to go play and have fun and realize how special it is to get to play this game. That won't change," McCown said. "I feel like we will have good energy and we will go out there and play well."
2. 'Full support' from Browns locker room
Veteran offensive lineman Joe Thomas has been through a number of quarterback changes since he joined the Browns in 2007, and Tuesday's was simply the most recent.
The longest-tenured Brown said Mike Pettine had the locker room's "full support" in his decision at quarterback.
"When the decision was made in the first place to go with Johnny, I think everybody still felt really confident in (QB) Josh (McCown). It wasn't like Josh lost his job," Thomas said. "We think he's been doing a great job all season. It was more a matter of trying to give Johnny some more time to improve himself, prove what type of a quarterback he can be. I think he slipped up a little bit, and the decision has made by the coach. Overall, everybody respects that decision."
Both Thomas and wide receiver Brian Hartline praised Manziel for the progress he's made since the end of his rookie season and said he handled himself like a professional at Wednesday's practice.
"Johnny had a great practice today. He's not going to let it slow him down," Hartline said. "Sometimes, you have to take one step backward to go four or five steps forward, and that could be the case."
3. Business as usual for Austin Davis
For Davis, nothing much changed in the wake of Tuesday's quarterback decision. He was the backup for the past two games behind Manziel while McCown was inactive and he'll be the backup to McCown on Monday against the Ravens.
Davis stressed the changed from third-string to being one play away from playing hasn't changed the approach he's carried since the day he arrived in Cleveland.
"I feel good with what we're doing," Davis said. "I've been here long enough to have an understanding of what we're doing. I've done everything I can up to this point to learn it and to understand it. It's different than if I would have played Week 2 or Week 3. To me, the expectation is to have a complete understanding of what we're doing, and I've tried to put in the extra time to do that because you don't ever want these types of situation to come up, but they do."
4. Another return to Cleveland for Terrance West
Former Brown Terrance West is poised to make his second trip to FirstEnergy Stadium this season as a member of the opposing team.
West, the second-year running back who was traded shortly before the start of the season, ran three times for 10 yards and a fumble as a member of the Tennessee Titans in Cleveland's Week 2 win. West was released by the Titans midway through the season and quickly joined the Ravens' practice squad. He was recently promoted to his hometown team's active roster and, in light of Justin Forsett's season-ending injury, is set to have a role Monday against the Browns.
"He's the next man up for us so he'll be in some role," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "I don't know exactly to what extent he's ready and we'll just have to figure that out as the week goes on. Just going to try to do the best he can whatever he's asked to do."
5. No injury updates yet
Because the Browns play Monday night, they won't be required to file an injury report until Thursday. Pettine said he did not have any updates on the team's injured players, which includes OL Joel Bitonio (ankle), DL Randy Starks (knee) and three players in the league's concussion protocol -- DB Joe Haden, WR Andrew Hawkins and WR Taylor Gabriel.
