This story has been updated with new information.
BALTIMORE — Denzel Ward went to the Browns locker room with medical personnel with less than 12 minutes remaining in the second quarter of the 41-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Ward appeared to get shaken up in the first quarter. He was not in at cornerback for the Browns’ first second-quarter defensive series after Baltimore blocked a punt.
The Browns announced that it was cramps for Ward. He did come back in briefly in the second half, but not enough to make an impact.
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“Yeah, disappointing obviously,” coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game, “when you can’t have a guy out there for injuries. But he tried.”
Cameron Mitchell came in to replace Ward at cornerback. He struggled, allowing three touchdowns on the day.
Two of those three touchdowns were in the second half, when the Ravens outscored the Browns 31-14.
“Definitely puts him in a hard spot,” cornerback Greg Newsome II said. “Like you said, especially when one of the better guys goes down and now you’re actually going to be on the field every snap when that wasn’t your mindset going into it, but at the end of the day, no matter what happens out there on the field, we’ve got to find a way to minimize some of those things when guys do come in, we’ve got to still execute.”
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 CB Denzel Ward leaves loss to Baltimore Ravens with cramps
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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