McCoy has a sprained ankle and his status is to be determined. McCoy's injury might open the door for Jake Delhomme to return to the starting lineup for the first time since Week 1.
View full sizeIt's been six weeks since Jake Delhomme limped through the second half of the Browns' Oct. 10 loss to John Abraham and Atlanta at Cleveland Browns Stadium. With Colt McCoy nursing a sprained ankle, Delhomme could make his return against his former team when Carolina comes to town next Sunday.BEREA, Ohio -- Colt McCoy's status for Sunday's Browns game against Carolina is uncertain because of a sprained left ankle, perhaps opening the door for Jake Delhomme to start against the team he once led to a Super Bowl.
In a Monday afternoon meeting with reporters, coach Eric Mangini did not speak to the extent of McCoy's injury. Mangini did not say whether McCoy has a high-ankle sprain, only that the ankle is "definitely" sprained and the team will know more Wednesday.
McCoy was expected to have an MRI scan Monday. He was injured early in the third quarter of Sunday's 24-20 loss at Jacksonville. His left foot bent for a split-second during a sack by Jeremy Mincey. McCoy remained in the game and eventually exited the locker roomwearing a orthopedic boot.
McCoy has played in five games, all starts (2-3). He is 81-of-127 for 975 yards and three touchdowns. He has been intercepted three times. His rating is 85.3.
Delhomme, acquired as a free agent in the off-season, started the opener at Tampa Bay and suffered a high-ankle sprain while being dragged down as he threw an interception. Mangini on Monday said Delhomme is "back to 100 percent, or as close to 100 percent as anyone is."
Seneca Wallace replaced Delhomme for a Week 2 start against the Chiefs in Cleveland. In his fourth start, Oct. 10 against the Falcons, Wallace suffered a high-ankle sprain while being sacked. McCoy, who had not been scheduled to play this season, started the next week at Pittsburgh.
Delhomme signed with Cleveland after seven seasons with the Panthers. In 2003, his first season in Carolina after five years in New Orleans, Delhomme threw for 3,219 yards and led the Panthers to the Super Bowl. The Panthers lost to New England in Super Bowl XXXVIII despite Delhomme's 323 passing yards.
None of the three Browns quarterbacks was available to the media Monday. The closest encounter came when Wallace moved toward his locker near the end of reporters' access to players. As a crowd gathered, Wallace smiled and said, "I pumped-faked y'all," as he continued walking into another room.
Wallace was the backup quarterback and Delhomme the No. 3 for the Jaguars game. It marked the first time since Oct. 10 that Delhomme was in uniform.
Mangini was asked if he would need to decide between Wallace and Delhomme.
"I'd like to wait until Wednesday to see how it does shake out in terms of where [McCoy] is," Mangini said. "That's really what I'd like to do. We'll figure it out at that point."
McCoy went 17-of-28 for 241 yards and one touchdown against the Jaguars. He threw one pick and was sacked six times. He was more efficient and productive in the first half (10-of-14, 135 yards, TD) but had a chance to be a hero in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
Trailing, 24-20, with 1:16 left, the Browns took over at their 20. McCoy twice found Mohamed Massaquoi for 17 yards and 12 yards, then connected with Chansi Stuckey on a shallow cross. The play lasted 15 seconds and gained zero yards, Stuckey being tackled at the Cleveland 49. McCoy spiked the ball with 18 seconds left.
Mangini knows that McCoy, a rookie who has been playing like a veteran, would like to have the Stuckey pass back.
"The one decision that was a young-guy decision was the shallow cross to Stuckey," Mangini said. "We talk about that a lot. You're fighting two things: distance and time. Unless you think it's going to be some catch-and-run type deal, it's not where you want to go with the ball. It sometimes happens, especially with a younger guy. Sometimes he'll try to hit a check-down. You actually tell the back there, 'Drop it.' If he makes that mistake, don't make it worse."
McCoy completed a 22-yarder to Evan Moore, who ran out of bounds to stop the clock with 13 seconds remaining. McCoy's next pass, intended for Ben Watson over the middle, was deflected and intercepted by safety Sean Considine inside the 5.
"Colt saw Ben get over the top of a linebacker and was trying to get a little air under it so he could catch and run," Mangini said. "It came behind him. The split safety they were playing, that's the softness of the defense right down the chute, so I think it was a good decision in terms of where he went with the ball.
"But even if Ben had caught it, unless he somehow bounced off and fell in, the game would have been over. We wanted to take two shots into the end zone and hopefully come up with one."
For a team to possibly lose three quarterbacks to ankle injuries at various points of one season does not necessarily surprise fullback Lawrence Vickers.
"That's football," Vickers said. "This is the National Football League. Anything -- anything, I tell you -- is possible around here. It's a physical game. So at any time, one wrong move can cost a guy.
"Is it crazy? It's kind of out of the norm. But, at the end of the day, we're going to have a quarterback back there who's going to make plays. We're all talented, and we all believe in each other."