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Mike Hall Jr. back, Tytus Howard questionable for Browns at Steelers
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- Mike Hall Jr. back, Tytus Howard questionable for Browns at Steelers
This story has been updated with new information.
BEREA ― The Browns should have one of their top defensive tackles back when they head to Pittsburgh for their Nov. 1 showdown with the Steelers . However, they may have to rely on one of their backup offensive tackles to protect quarterback Deshaun Watson .
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Dawand Jones would start at right tackle in place of Tytus Howard for the AFC North first-place showdown if Howard can't go. Howard did not practice again Oct. 30, but was listed as questionable as there's a chance for him to clear concussion protocol before the Browns depart for Pittsburgh on Oct. 31.
"Yeah, we'll have a better idea in the morning," Browns coach Todd Monken said Oct. 30. "We do have a practice tomorrow to work our way through it."
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Howard was one of three Browns listed as questionable against the Steelers. Also on that list are nickelback Myles Harden (hamstring) and safety Daniel Thomas (ankle).
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The Browns did get good news, with Mike Hall Jr. likely to return to the field after missing nearly a month with an ankle injury. Hall practiced all week, the first time he's practiced since sustaining the injury late in the first half of the first game between the Browns and Steelers Oct. 1 in Cleveland.
Hall would be the latest key defensive player to return to the field from injury. A week ago at the Tennessee Titans, fellow defensive tackle Mason Graham returned from a sprained medial collateral ligament in his knee and a sprained ankle.
Sam Kamara had been called up from the practice squad each of the last three games in Hall's absence. The Browns would have to sign Kamara to the active roster if call him up to play Sunday since he's used his three elevations.
"Feel really good" about Hall, Monken said. "He tried to go last week, [but] just couldn't, a lot like Mason tried the week before that. So really excited to have him back in the rotation. Sam did a great job in the three weeks we elevated him for us up front. So I feel like we've got really good depth there, and getting Mike back is a real boost."
Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. (51) sacks Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Oct. 1, 2026, in Cleveland.
Both Hall and Graham sustained their injuries in the first half of the Browns' Week 4 home win over the Steelers. Graham's injury happened on the first Pittsburgh possession of the game, with 7:41 remaining in the first quarter.
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Hall was injured on the first play of the Steelers' final possession of the first half. Despite being carted to the locker room, he returned for the start of the third quarter and came up with a big fourth-quarter sack of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The Browns sacked Rodgers five times in the game. Three of those ― by Hall, Maliek Collins and Adin Huntington ― were by defensive tackles.
Howard sustained the concussion with 12:31 remaining in the third quarter of the Browns' win in Tennessee. Jones replaced him for the remainder of the game.
Jones was a central figure on Harold Fannin Jr.'s 36-yard catch that set up the game-winning field goal by Andre Szmyt. The right tackle appeared to false start before the snap, but the officials didn't throw a flag.
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This season, Jones has appeared in all seven games, but mostly on special teams. He did play 33 offensive snaps for Howard in a Week 5 loss at the New York Jets, and then the 25 snaps for him against the Titans.
Jones also spent the entire offseason program and the first couple of weeks of training camp working at left tackle along with rookie Spencer Fano.
"There's no substitution for reps," Monken said. "That's what we tried to do in the offseason with all of our young players — and I still think he's a young player — is get as many reps as we can. There's no substitution for it. Yeah, there's the mental part of the classroom and the guys, what they do with their bodies in the offseason, but certainly you've got to get on the field, and all the reps that he got is paying off."
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A 2023 fourth-round pick out of Ohio State, Jones would be making his 21st career start in his 32nd career appearance. It also would take him back to the site of his first career start, in Week 2 of the 2023 season against the Steelers on "Monday Night Football."
That night, the then-rookie Jones was starting in place of Jack Conklin, who had sustained a season-ending knee injury the previous week against the Cincinnati Bengals. Despite lining up essentially all night against Pittsburgh All-Pro T.J. Watt, Jones was not credited with allowing a sack by Pro Football Focus, while giving up a quarterback hit and four hurries in a 26-22 Browns loss.
The only other time Jones has faced Pittsburgh was in Week 11 of that same year, when he split time with James Hudson III as he was returning from a knee injury. He did not allow any pressures in his 30 snaps that game, a 13-10 Browns win in Cleveland.
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/
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Mike Hall Jr. back, Tytus Howard questionable for Browns at Steelers
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