ESPN's Ed Werder reported on SportsCenter Tuesday that the Browns are discussing shutting down Trent Richardson (ribs) through their Week 10 bye.
Werder termed Richardson's rib-cartilage injury "serious," and hinted it was aggravated on a "direct hit" in the second quarter of last week's loss to Indianapolis. "The team (is) now discussing whether to hold him out through the bye week to allow him to heal," Werder said. "The fear being that if they don't, he'll be debilitated by his injury all year long. There's internal conflict about shutting him down, though, because Pat Shurmur the coach has to win some games here. They've only got one victory and Jimmy Haslam the new owner says he wants a stronger finish if he's going to bring back the coaching staff."
A source tells ESPN that the preliminary results of Blaine Gabbert's MRI show a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
Gabbert will receive a second opinion from the famed Dr. James Andrews on Tuesday. After that, a determination about his Week 8 availability will be made. Since the damage is on Gabbert's non-throwing shoulder, it's possible he could play through this injury. Backup Chad Henne was an inept 9-of-20 for 71 yards in relief during Sunday's loss to the Raiders.