Browns cornerback Joe Haden is looking forward to his rematch with Bengals receiver A.J. Green.

In the season opener, Haden held the standout rookie to no catches . . . until the Bengals caught the Browns napping late in the game. Bengals QB Bruce Gradkowski called for a quick snap and hit Green for an easy 41-yard go-ahead touchdown.

Green has 41 receptions and six TDs this season despite missing the Bengals’ game against Baltimore last Sunday and the second half against Pittsburgh the week before with a knee injury. Green leads NFL rookies with 635 receiving yards and is second among rookies in receptions, trailing only the Browns’ Greg Little (42).

“I look forward to [playing against Green] a lot,” Haden said. “He’s one of the best receivers we have in the division. He’s gotten better as [rookie quarterback Andy] Dalton‘s gotten more mature. They have a good connection. He goes to him a lot. It just seems to be working really well with those guys.”

Haden, who faced Green twice in college, broke up five passes and had a near-interception in their first meeting.

“We had a lot of time to study them,” said Haden. “We were on top of our game.”

Haden said it might be tougher this time around.

“He’s a deep threat and he has really good speed,” Haden said. “He can jump and he’s an all-around really good receiver. It will definitely be a challenge to cover him. It should be a good matchup.”

Browns defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson, head of the league’s No. 1 pass defense, knows Green has improved since Week 1.

“A.J. Green is a phenomenal young talent,” he said. “He’s playing really well. You can see the things that he can do down the field, he goes up, he’s a big target, he runs well, runs good routes, has good hands. He’s a tough, tough guy. He’s going to be a good player in this league for a long time. He’s going to be a tough matchup for whoever’s on him. I just hope whoever’s on him is up to that challenge.”

Haden has broken up 16 passes this season, but last week dropped two potential interceptions and has yet to pick one off this season.

“It means I’m around the ball a lot, but I should catch some of them,” Haden said. “I’ll try to work on that.”

Pashos absent: Right tackle Tony Pashos was absent from practice Friday because his wife was in labor with their first baby. Coach Pat Shurmur said he expects Pashos to play Sunday. Artis Hicks worked in Pashos’ place.

Mitchell idle: Defensive end Jayme Mitchell has missed two straight days with and ankle injury and is questionable for Sunday. In case he can’t play, the Browns promoted defensive lineman Kiante Tripp from the practice squad. To make room, the team waived running back Thomas Clayton.

Tripp spent training camp this season with the Falcons after signing as an undrafted free agent July 27 out of Georgia. The Falcons waived him Sept. 2 and he has spent the past seven weeks on the Browns’ practice squad.

Mitchell lost his starting job last week to Emmanuel Stephens, who has had four tackles each of the past four games.

Shurmur said he wasn’t surprised to learn Mitchell told reporters he wasn’t happy about his demotion.

“I would expect him to not be happy about that,” he said. “I spoke to him twice [Friday] and we spoke [Thursday] so we’re just working our way through that.”

Marecic questionable: Fullback Owen Marecic (concussion) is questionable, though Shurmur said he has a chance to play despite missing practice all week.

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Read More: Scott Fujita (LB – CLE), Peyton Hillis (RB – CLE), Joe Haden (DB – CLE), Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks at Cleveland Browns, Oct 23, 2011 12:00 PM CDT

The Cleveland Browns final injury report of the week came out on Friday afternoon with few surprises for those who read the reports coming out of Friday morning’s practice. Of note, though, are status updates for Peyton Hillis, Joe Haden and Scott Fujita regarding Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Hillis has been dealing with a hamstring injury as of late, even missing a portion of last week’s game after originally tweaking it in the third quarter. The Browns’ star running back didn’t practice at all this week, but he’s listed as questionable for this weekend’s game and will probably end up being a game-time decision.

While Hillis at least has a chance to play, Fujita has been ruled out for this weekend’s game. Fujita suffered a concussion against the Oakland Raiders and was sent home by Cleveland head coach Pat Shurmur earlier in the week. The news on Haden is a bit better as he was able to participate in some of Friday’s practice after being held out Wednesday and Thursday with a knee injury.

Gotta run!.

Plain Dealer’s Cleveland Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot hosts News and Notes with Joe Haden, Montario Hardesty, Chris Ogbonnaya T.J. Ward, Evan Moore and Joshua Cribbs as they prepare for the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Sunday.

On Twitter: @CLEvideos

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

BEREA — Browns running back Peyton Hillis will sit out practice again today, but is still day-to-day.

He’ll run in the pool today, along with defensive back Ray Ventrone, who also suffered a pulled hamstring. Coach Pat Shurmur had hoped Hillis could do some light running on Wednesday, but he wasn’t ready.

Shurmur said none of the injured players has been ruled out for Seattle yet, including cornerback Joe Haden (sprained knee),  linebacker Scott Fujita (concussion), and cornerback Buster Skrine (hip).

Fujita was sent home for the second straight day today with his concussion symptoms. Defensive coordinator Dick Jauron said he thinks Fujita suffered the concussion early in the Raiders game when he had some helmet-to-helmet contact. He remained in the game until the fourth quarter.

Jauron acknowledged that the prospect of playing without Haden and Skrine “would not be the best scenario for us.” He said that although Skrine is young “he’s not in awe of anybody.”  Shurmur said the Browns would use more of James Dockery and that a safety such as Mike Adams could move to corner if need be.

Haden will do some jogging for the third straight day, and Shurmur said his feeling is that Haden and Skrine will be able to play.

Jauron also talked about preparing for the Seahawks’ no-huddle offense and how “it stresses everybody.” He said there will be chances to substitute and that communication is key.

Offensive lineman Artis Hicks sat out Wednesday with back spasms and will either rest or be limited today.

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BEREA — Browns coach Pat Shurmur continues to not rule out cornerback Joe Haden and center Alex Mack for Sunday’s game in Oakland. But the reality is the two key starters will have gone two weeks without practicing by the weekend.

 Neither Haden (knee) nor Mack (appendectomy) will practice again today. That leaves only Friday’s practice — typically devoted mostly to special teams — before the team departs for Oakland.

 ”It’s too early to speculate on whether they will play,” Shurmur said.

 ”Some coaches have a hard and fast rule if they’re not there on Friday then they can’t play. Each one is different and I’ll kind of hold off. There’s a chance if they can’t practice on Friday they can still play, I will say that.”

 If Haden doesn’t play, Dimitri Patterson would take his spot at left cornerback. Buster Skrine would play there when Patterson moves inside to cover the slot receiver.

 Defensive coordinator Dick Jauron said, “It would be a big blow, obviously, (if Haden can’t play). There’s no way around it. He’s important to us.”

 If Mack can’t play, Steve Vallos would slide between young starting guards Jason Pinkston and Shawn Lauvao.

 ”Vallos has played a lot of football and I really like him as a center,” Shurmur said.

 On other matters:

 * Shurmur had no update on the condition of defensive end Marcus Benard, but he did say he expected him to be released from the Cleveland Clinic today.

 * Shurmur praised Oakland running back Darren McFadden.

 ”It’s hard to find something he’s not good at. When you start listing the best running backs in the league and how they’re playing, it’s hard not to include him in your top five,” he said.

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