Cleveland Browns: Storylines to watch vs. Miami Dolphins

Injuries have begun to take a toll on the Browns as they prepare for Sunday’s Week 3 game against the Dolphins. Starters like Corey Coleman, Josh McCown, Cam Erving, and Carl Nassib will be out of the action Sunday with their respective injuries.

In addition to those players, starting safety Ibraheim Campbell was ruled out for the game on Friday with a hamstring injury. This means fourth-round pick Derrick Kindred will start in his place. Kindred has received extended playing time in each of the first two games and has produced well. The physical safety has already showcased his toughness and his wiliness to get his nose dirty, with his hard-hitting ability.

Kindred was praised for these attributes coming out of TCU last season where he played the entire season with a broken collarbone. Kindred has made standout plays thus far this season and will get an opportunity to start and showcase his aggressive tackling and play.

Kicker Patrick Murray also got hurt Friday, injuring his knee, and is now questionable for the game Sunday. The severity of the injury is unknown, but the Browns signed veteran kicker Cody Parkey, formerly with the Eagles, to fill in at kicker if Murray is unable to kick Sunday. Parkey was a Pro Bowler following his stellar rookie season in 2014 where he set a new NFL scoring record for a rookie with 150 points. Parkey missed all of last season with a groin injury, and now will get another chance with the Browns.

Additionally, cornerback Joe Haden was listed questionable for Sunday’s game with a groin injury. Hopefully, Haden can go Sunday after turning in a stellar performance in Week 2, intercepting two passes. Haden showed his ability when he is fully healthy last week and the star corner doesn’t need to be hampered this season by a groin injury.

Even with all the early injuries, Hue Jackson is still confident in his team. Coach Jackson addressed his next man up approach in his press conference Thursday giving no excuses to the rapid amount of injuries the past week,

"These things happen, maybe not to the rate we have. I will be the first to tell you, I have never lost two quarterbacks in two weeks and turnaround and lose a young defensive player and here comes your receiver. No, that is a bit much, but I do know that these things happen. Like I said, if we were not going to get them back, maybe I would not be sitting here right now, but we are. That is just part of it. Our guys, they will be the first to tell you, honestly, I haven’t really made any mention of it other than ‘Here we go,’ because that is all you can do. They are not going to change the schedule. They are not going to tell us, ‘You guys get a couple weeks off and see if they can heal up.’ They say, ‘You have a game to play’ so we have a game to play and we are looking forward to playing.”"

Jackson is confident, but Sunday’s game will give fans a clear sense of how well this team can do after already suffering so many injuries.