Browns more worried about game than Raiders’ complaints

CLEVELAND — Browns linebacker Anthony Walker is more worried about getting ready for a football game than he is the complaints from the opposition about when that game will be played.

The fifth-year pro out of Northwestern was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday and was able to practice on Saturday, hours before the originally scheduled time of the game between the Raiders and Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Kickoff is now slated for 2 p.m. Monday, allowing the Browns to get some of the more than 20 players on the COVID list back on the active roster.

Several Raiders players expressed emotions from annoyance to anger at the situation on social media.

“We all saw that,” Walker said of the posts on a post-practice Zoom. “Either way, the league made a decision. … We are prepared for it. That is all we can take care of. We can’t worry about anything else. We will be ready … That is all I have to say.”

He then expressed gratitude for his teammate, offensive lineman JC Tretter, the president of the NFLPA, who lobbied for the change.

“Thanks, JC, for being on the Browns,” Walker added.

The appearance of a conflict of interest in Tretter and the NFLPA pushing for the 48-hour delay hasn’t been lost on league observers or the Raiders.

Jokes aside, Walker insists the Browns were ready for whenever the league said to take the field.

“With the hand we were dealt, I don’t think the guys flinched either way,” he said. “If we had to play (with or without) the reschedule, I think we have a lot of mature guys who can handle it the right way and great coaches who have kept us engaged and locked in for whatever was handed to us.

“Obviously, we should be able to get a couple of guys back hopefully within the next few days. But however the league decided to handle it, we were going to be prepared for it.”

The extra time also gave the Browns time Saturday on the practice field after they spent the week in enhanced protocols and practiced fully just once. The Raiders took the day off Saturday.

That meant projected starting quarterback Nick Mullens, who has been on the practice squad, got to take his only first-team reps of the season. He’s the likely starter with both Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum on the COVID list, though it’s still possible one or both of them could be cleared by game time.

“I do not even know if I had a reaction,” Mullens said of learning the game was pushed back. “I was just prepared and ready to play and then it got moved. I said, ‘Alright, we will play on Monday.’ I think it might not rain on Monday, so I can’t complain about that. I am just ready to play and focused on the job.”

That’s the message from coach Kevin Stefanski, who also remains on the COVID list and will not be on the sidelines unless he is cleared before Monday.

The Browns have until 11 p.m. Monday to finalize their roster, so they won’t be completely sure of who can play or not until then. Stefanski said his team will be ready to play with whoever is eligible.

”As you can imagine, things are very fluid,” he said. “We will see how it goes in terms of guys going to the list. But in terms of guys who are coming back, we don’t know. There is uncertainty there. If guys make it back, great. If they do not, that is fine, too. I think our players embrace the uncertainty and embrace the challenge of this.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.