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News & Notes: Alex Van Pelt loves competitive fire from Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham Jr.

“Those are the guys you want on your team, the fighters, the guys that want to finish the race.”

Odell Beckham Jr. didn't want to come out of the game. Neither did Baker Mayfield.

Both, of course, were removed early in last week's loss to the Steelers, and Alex Van Pelt couldn't help but notice how the news sat with the players. Even though it resulted in some short-term frustration, Van Pelt loved to see the fire from two of his top offensive players.

"I would definitely want those types of players on our team, as opposed to the guys that would be happy to be pulled out of a game, in kind of a game that got away from us," Van Pelt said. "Those are the guys you want on your team, the fighters, the guys that want to finish the race."

There were plenty of reasons behind both of the decisions, as Mayfield was dealing with plenty of pain caused by a chest injury that limited him in practice the previous week. Beckham has dealt with a handful of minor injuries throughout the year, including a toe ailment.

With the game out of reach, Van Pelt's focus shifted to the long-term. There's a lot of season left, and the Browns are going to need Mayfield and Beckham to make the most of it.

"This is a 16-game, one-at-a-time sprint, and it is a little bit of a marathon in that regard," Van Pelt said. "We had some guys that were injured that needed to get out of that game and get healthy for the long run. But I do appreciate the fact that they want to play and I love that about those guys." 

Mayfield and Beckham are among the numerous Browns players dealing with some sort of injury that requires them to play through the pain. Earlier in the day Thursday, veteran WR Jarvis Landry revealed he'd been playing with a broken rib.

Van Pelt said his offensive players "give everything they have," and it's a big part of the reason why the Browns are off to a 4-2 start.

"Guys want to be out there. They want to be out there for their teammates to win," Van Pelt said. "We will be just fine. We feel good that the sun came up after the game. So, that is all positive. And we are looking forward to getting down to Cincinnati."

Check out exclusive photos of the Browns preparing for their game against the Cincinatti Bengals

Injury Updates

DT Sheldon Richardson (Achilles) was a new addition to Thursday's injury report. Richardson was one of three players, joining G Wyatt Teller (calf) and LB Jacob Phillips (knee), who did not participate in practice.

S Andrew Sendejo (shin) was back in a limited capacity after sitting out Wednesday's. S Karl Joseph, who missed the past two games with a hamstring injury, was a limited participant for a second consecutive day.

"I would say he is progressing coming off that injury," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. "We will see how he does today responding to working yesterday for the first time out there at practice. Karl brings a veteran presence, a smart football player, plays fast and kind of fits what we want to be."

Asked about the status of RB Nick Chubb, who has been on injured reserve for two weeks with a knee injury, Stefanski said the Pro Bowler was "on schedule."

"No real substantive update other than he is progressing and he is right on schedule," Stefanski said. "I will wait until they tell me he is ready to go. I can't speculate, though."

More Mack

LB Mack Wilson said he's not quite 100 percent but is getting closer with each passing week.

Wilson played roughly half of the snaps in last week's loss to the Steelers. He's seen his playing time gradually increase since he returned Week 3 from a knee injury and had a season-best four tackles in Pittsburgh.

"It is something that I have been pushing myself every day to kind of get back to being me," Wilson said. "I am just going to continue to do whatever the guys tell me to do as far as treatment wise to kind of get back to 100 percent."

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