Willis McGahee ruled out
Cleveland Browns running back Willis McGahee (26) runs the ball in the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Cleveland Browns running back Willis McGahee suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter of the team’s Week 14 loss to the New England Patriots, and he was unable to practice on Wednesday or Thursday. This immediately cast the RB’s Week 15 status into doubt, and he was never expected to play this week against the Chicago Bears. His Week 15 fate has been sealed, as the Akron Beacon Journal’s Nate Ulrich reports that McGahee has been ruled out after not practicing today.
There’s actually a chance that the Browns give the 32-year-old the rest of the season off and use the extra carries for Fozzy Whittaker and Chris Ogbonnaya, but there’s nothing concrete on that at this point. McGahee has been very ineffective this season with an average of just 2.7 yards per carry, so the Browns are hoping that either Whittaker or Ogbonnaya can do a solid job down the stretch of the regular season and help the Browns finish strong.
With McGahee ruled out, the Browns are set to use a time-share between those two backs against an awful Bears run defense. On the bright side for the Bears, they will be getting Lance Briggs back, and he is easily their best run defender. However, that’s probably not enough to make the Bears run defense respectable, so it’s a prime opportunity for the Browns backup RBs to shine.