BEREA, Ohio -- Injured Browns quarterbacks Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace are not practicing, making it likely rookie quarterback Colt McCoy will make his third consecutive start Sunday against New England.
Coach Eric Mangini had expected Wallace to be back on Wednesday. McCoy instead will get all the reps with Cleveland's starting offense. The third-round draft pick is 1-1 as a starter, losing at Pittsburgh and winning in New Orleans.
"I'm here for whatever they ask me to do," he said. "That's a coaches decision. Jake and Seneca aren't practicing and I treat it the same way I have the last several weeks. It's to prepare like I'm the starter every time. Whether it ends that way or not, I'm going to be prepared to play and am just working as hard as I can because the rest of this team is doing the same thing.
"I want to be able to step out on the field and be my best for this team and give this team the best chance to win."
Wallace and Delhomme are dealing with high ankle sprains. Delhomme was injured in the season opener and re-injured his ankle Oct. 10, when he had to come in to replace Wallace, who rolled his ankle against Atlanta.
Before the Browns' bye week, McCoy got a chance to start against Drew Brees, a fellow Texan and a player he has long admired. McCoy feels the same sore of reverence for the Patriots' Tom Brady, and is excited about the possibility of playing against one of the NFL's top arms.
"For me, just being on the field with Tom Brady, that's kind of like last week," he said. "Tom Brady has won three Super Bowls and just to be out there playing against him, that's awesome for me."
McCoy, who had his No. 12 jersey retired last week at Texas, said the off week was a good chance to clear his mind and prepare for the rest of the season. However, he couldn't get completely away from football.
"Honestly, when I went home and we got the jersey retired, I'm really honored about that. That was fun," he said. "But I still had one foot in the door here, my mind was still racing about watching film for New England: 'What do we got to do to win?' That's just me, in general. But it was fun. It was good to get home and see my family. But I'm glad to be back and rolling again."
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press