Why Myles Garrett wasn’t at Browns practice on Tuesday, and more injury updates

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BEREA, Ohio — Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett missed Tuesday’s first practice of the week as the Browns prepare for their wild card matchup with the Houston Texans. Garrett was excused for personal reasons during a week when the Browns moved their schedule up a day to accommodate the Saturday matchup.

Garrett didn’t practice last Friday while dealing with shoulder and hamstring injuries, and didn’t play in Sunday’s meaningless Week 18 game in Cincinnati.

Wide receiver Amari Cooper (rest/heel), kicker Dustin Hopkins (left hamstring), running back Kareem Hunt (groin), cornerback Greg Newsome II (knee), running back Pierre Strong Jr. (back), wide receiver Cedric Tillman (concussion) and safety Juan Thornhill (calf) also all missed practice.

Tight end David Njoku (not injury related — knee) and left guard Joel Bitonio (not injury related — rest, oblique, knee) also did not practice.

Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin (limited, knee) and cornerback Mike Ford Jr. (limited, calf) returned to practice.

Linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk (calf) was limited along with edge rusher Ogbo Okoronkwo (pec, groin) and center Ethan Pocic (shoulder, stinger).

Two players who were injured during Sunday’s game, defensive tackle Shelby Harris (shin) and linebacker Mohamoud Diabate (thumb), both practiced on Tuesday. Harris was listed as full and Diabate did not appear on the injury report.

Cooper has missed the last two games with a heel injury that initially occurred the first time the Browns played the Texans on Christmas Eve, when he set a franchise record with 265 receiving yards and became the first Browns receiver to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.

Strong injured his back near the end of the Bengals game Sunday and was eventually taken to the locker room on a cart.

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For Houston, linebacker Will Anderson (ankle), wide receivers Noah Brown (back) and Robert Woods (hip), defensive tackles Maliek Collins (hip) and Sheldon Rankins (shoulder), defensive end Jonathan Greenard (ankle), guard Shaq Mason (not injury related — rest) and offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil (not injury related — rest) did not practice.

Fullback Andrew Beck (calf) and center/guard Michael Deiter (elbow) were limited.

Myles Garrett, Amari Cooper among Browns out of practice Tuesday

The Browns were missing a few big names at practice on Tuesday.

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Defensive end Myles Garrett, wide receiver Amari Cooper, and tight end David Njoku were among the players who were not on the field as the team worked to get ready for Saturday’s game against the Texans. None of the players played in Week 18, although the Browns had nothing to play for and no reason to push any players on the field.

Garrett was listed as having a personal issue in addition to shoulder and hamstring issues while Njoku is listed as resting and having a knee injury. Cooper also missed Week 17 with a heel injury.

Guard Joel Bitonio (rest, oblique, knee), kicker Dustin Hopkins (left hamstring), running back Kareem Hunt (groin), cornerback Greg Newsome (knee), running back Pierre Strong (back), safety Juan Thornhill (calf), and wide receiver Cedric Tillman (concussion) were also out of practice. Cornerback Mike Ford (calf), wide receiver Marquise Goodwin (knee), linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk (calf), defensive lineman Ogbo Okoronkwo (pectoral, groin), and center Ethan Pocic (shoulder, stinger) were limited participants.

Quarterback Joe Flacco also landed on the report with a calf injury, but he was a full participant.