Cleveland Browns designate safety Juan Thornhill for return to practice after calf injury

BEREA — The Browns are getting another piece of their starting defense back on the practice field.

Safety Juan Thornhill was designated for return from injured reserve on Wednesday. That opens up his 21-day window to practice before the Browns have to make a call on whether to put him on the active roster or shut him down for the season.

Thornhill went on injured reserve on Sept. 11 with a calf injury, along with defensive tackle Maurice Hurst II and linebackers Mohamoud Diabate and Tony Fields II. All four players sustained injuries in a season-opening loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Hurst and Diabate were activated from injured reserve last Saturday. Both started in the Browns loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Browns were without both Grant Delpit (concussion) and Ronnie Hickman (ankle), leaving Rodney McLeod and D'Anthony Bell to start at safety against the Eagles. McLeod did have a blocked field goal return for a touchdown along with a team-high eight tackles.

Delpit was not on the Browns' pre-practice injury report Wednesday, and was a limited practice participant. That doesn't mean he's out of concussion protocol yet, but it's one of the final steps in the process.

The time on injured reserve allowed Thornhill to rest his calf, which he didn't necessarily do while playing through a similar injury last season. During training camp, he acknowledged that trying to play through the injury was a big reason for it lingering.

Thornhill was limited to just 11 games during the regular season last year due to those injuries, including one that held him out of five of the last eight games. He played 60 snaps, 95% of all defensive snaps, during the opener, and tied for the team lead with nine combined tackles.

C Ethan Pocic, RB Jerome Ford top list of Browns players not practicing

Center Ethan Pocic (knee), running back Jerome Ford (hamstring) and safety Ronnie Hickman (ankle) were the only players not on the Browns' pre-practice injury report Wednesday. All three were the only ones not to practice at all.

Pocic's injury remains one to monitor as the week goes along with backup center Nick Harris on injured reserve. The Browns signed Cameron Ton to the active roster on Tuesday to provide more depth at the position, which required Michael Dunn to slide over from right guard to handle it during the Eagles game.

Ford and Hickman are at spots where the Browns appear to be getting key players back this week. Running back Nick Chubb's expectant return from last season's knee injury should happen this week, and Thornhill and potentially Delpit could bolster the safety position.

(This story has been updated with new information.)

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Browns designate safety Juan Thornhill for return to practice after calf injury