BEREA — With a 1-5 record, the Browns need all the practice time they can get.
But with at least 12 players, including six starters, out with the flu, coach Eric Mangini was forced to scale back practice Wednesday. The sick players were told not to report to the team facility to prevent further spreading of the illness.
Mangini said many of the cases hit Wednesday morning and that he didn’t know if they the H1N1 virus. He also said medical laws might prevent him from revealing if the players have the swine flu.
“We’re trying to, first signs of any type of illness, get the guys home and out of the building,” he said. “We’re working as hard as we can to promote things to prevent the illness.”
The absent starters were: nose tackle Shaun Rogers, center Alex Mack, safety Brodney Pool, tight end Robert Royal, fullback Lawrence Vickers and linebacker Kamerion Wimbley, who was sent home from Pittsburgh on Sunday morning and missed the game with the flu. Rogers got sick Sunday morning but played. He was driven home from Pittsburgh separate from the rest of the team.
The others out sick: running back Jerome Harrison, defensive back Anthony Madison, receiver Chansi Stuckey, linebacker Jason Trusnik, defensive end Corey Williams and practice squad defensive end Brian Schaefering.
“We’re stressing the importance of sleep and (washing) hands and things like that,” Mangini said. “It’s that time of year. Unfortunately we have quite a few guys who are dealing with it. We’ll adjust practice, work around it, continue to move forward on Green Bay.”
The NFL instituted a policy earlier in the season in case a team was hammered by the H1N1 virus. If a team has at least six players unable to play because of confirmed cases of swine flu, it can promote a maximum of eight players from its practice squad without releasing players from the 53-man roster. The deadline is four hours prior to kickoff.
“This procedure does not apply to any other type of flu or illness,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.
The players that were left in the locker room seemed to take the issue in stride.
“I just think there’s a little bit more of a hype to it right now just because of what’s been going on out in the real world,” receiver Mike Furrey said. “But for in here right now, we have a bunch of guys who’re sick and not feeling good so they might as well take care of it early before it spreads around to everybody.”
Read Thursday’s Chronicle for more on the Browns.
Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.
