CLEVELAND — The Browns are optimistic they'll have two of their starting offensive linemen this weekend.
Coach Hue Jackson said it's possible right tackle Shon Coleman (concussion) and center JC Tretter (shoulder/knee/quad) will play Sunday against Jacksonville despite having not yet practiced this week.
"I think we still have a chance to get these guys back," he said Thursday. "We'll know more today about where we are. Once I leave here, I will get with the medical staff, but I feel confident that these guys both have a chance to be back playing."
The pair are part of an offensive line that lost Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas to a season-ending triceps injury last month. And with a Jaguars defense that leads the NFL with 35 sacks, Cleveland hopes the unit is at full strength.
If Coleman (a second-year player out of Auburn) and Tretter (who joined the team via free agency last spring) can't play, the Browns will likely count on backup tackle Zach Banner and center Austin Reiter to fill the void. Banner played in his first NFL game in Detroit last weekend when Coleman went down while Reiter showed promise in one start last season before suffering a knee injury.
In any case, the Browns expect to be ready for whatever Jacksonville throws at them this weekend.
"It's definitely tough anytime you are a little banged up," left guard Joel Bitonio said, "but (Banner and Reiter) are getting the looks too because we don't know who's going to be out playing. They've done a good job this week. They've really prepared well."
"Hopefully we will be 100 percent," he continued, "but we will see."
