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Browns turn to Jaleel McLaughlin at running back with Quinshon Judkins and others injured
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- Browns turn to Jaleel McLaughlin at running back with Quinshon Judkins and others injured
This story has been updated with new information.
The injuries for the Browns at running back made Jaleel McLaughlin the starter Oct. 18 against the Baltimore Ravens.
McLaughlin finished with 41 yards on nine carries in the 13-10 Browns win over the Ravens. He also had four catches for 14 yards.
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"I think just really just kind of the work that they put in this week, the knowledge that they kind of picked up," quarterback Deshaun Watson said of McLaughlin and backup Audric Estime. "I think the work with [running backs coach] Duce [Staley] and the staff put in the overtime, staying late, getting there early.
"They didn't have a lot of checks when I was out there on the field. There was a couple things where he was, a couple of motions and stuff like that they was asking questions on, but majority of the time they knew exactly what they wanted to do. They knew exactly what they needed to do running the ball and protection-wise and also routes."
So who, exactly, is McLaughlin?
For starters, the North Carolina native's college background is entirely Northeast Ohio. He started in the now-defunct Notre Dame College NCAA Division II football program before transferring to FCS Division I Youngstown State University.
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McLaughlin, 26, was originally signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023 by the Denver Broncos . He spent three seasons with the Broncos, playing in 41 games and rushing for 1,039 yards and three touchdowns.
After the Broncos waived McLaughlin at the end of August, the Browns signed him to their practice squad. He was added to the active roster when Dylan Sampson went on the injured reserve list after the opener.
One of McLaughlin's teammates with the Broncos was Estime, the Broncos' fifth-round pick in 2024 out of the University of Notre Dame. The Browns signed Estime to the active roster last week while he was on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad.
Estime ran for 19 yards on nine carries. He scored the game-tying touchdown on a 2-yard run with 8:33 remaining, making it 10-10.
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"It was crazy being in a running back room with Jaleel my rookie year, 2024, two years ago, was amazing and who knew our roads would intersect again?" Estime said. "But he's a great guy. He's a great guy who's able to teach me stuff. Like, when I came in, he was one of those guys who was helping me learn the plays and just he brings energy. So just being able to feed off his energy is amazing."
In addition to Sampson being injured, Quinshon Judkins was ruled out of Sunday's game during warmups. Backup Raheim Sanders was put on injured reserve leading up to the game against Baltimore.
"Yeah, he fought to try and get back, and hopefully we'll get Samp back this week and we'll get Q back," Browns coach Todd Monken said after the game. "We're hopeful to get two. Heck, we didn't have those guys. But J. Mac ran hard, man. He ran hard. He ran with a passion and a mission."
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. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter at https://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns turn to Jaleel McLaughlin at running back with Quinshon Judkins and others injured
