Browns running back Montario Hardesty still hopes to salvage what’s left of his lost season.

“I definitely want to finish out these two games strong,” said Hardesty, who’s carried the ball in one of the past seven games because of his torn calf muscle. “I’ve been really frustrated with this calf injury. It really hindered me a lot this year, but I have two more chances to go out and play.”

Hardesty made the trip to Arizona and was active for the game, but stood on the sidelines and didn’t play. Meanwhile, Peyton Hillis rushed for 99 yards.

“The calf was sore last week,” said Hardesty. “I was ready if they needed me, but they didn’t.”

On Tuesday, Hardesty practiced full-go, and is hoping to see the field in Baltimore — against the Ravens’ second-ranked run defense.

“It feels a lot better” Hardesty said of the calf. “I got a lot of reps [Tuesday] and it felt good. Hopefully it will continue to improve throughout the week.”

Hardesty said he never dreamt the calf would cost him most of his season when he felt a twinge on Oct. 30 in San Francisco. He carried the ball 11 times for 24 yards at Pittsburgh on Dec. 8. But he emerged sore from that game and had to rest again.

“I’d love to have a chance to play against Baltimore and Pittsburgh,” he said. “Both are great defenses. We have to find a way to win these games.”

Two new players: As expected, the Browns placed linebacker Titus Brown on injured reserve with his right knee injury and tight end Alex Smith on IR with his shoulder injury.

To replace them, the Browns signed linebacker Brian Smith off their practice squad and signed tight end Dan Gronkowski as a free agent.

Gronkowski is the brother of Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski, who has set the NFL record for TD receptions by a tight end with 15 this season. Their other brother, Chris, is a fullback for the Colts. Dan Gronkowski spent five games with the Patriots this season, with one start. He was waived Nov. 8.

“I stayed in Foxborough,” said Gronkowski. “I had an apartment with my brother and was training. It paid off I guess, I felt pretty good out there. I didn’t feel like I’d been out that long.”

Gronkowski (6-5, 255 pounds) a seventh-round pick of the Lions in 2009 out of Maryland, said he used his time off to get bigger, which should help his blocking.

“I definitely can help in that area,” he said. “I’m definitely built to be a blocker, a little heavier. In the next two games I’ll do what I can.”

Gronkowski said he’s happy for Rob, who’s having blockbuster season.

“My brothers and I, we’re all best friends and we root for each other,” he said. “When he does good, it makes us all feel good and I mean, he’s a great player and I say that he’s learned everything from me. He set records this year and stuff and he’s an amazing player and he’s just going to get better.”

Brian Smith was signed by the Browns as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame, but waived at the end of camp. In Week 12, he was signed to the practice squad.

“It’s a blessing to be back and I’m just the kind of guy that stays resilient, keeps working at it, and when I get my shot I’m going to take full advantage of it,” said Smith.

Concussion update: Browns fullback Owen Marecic practiced Tuesday and is expecting to play in Baltimore despite suffering his second concussion in four weeks on Dec. 8 in Pittsburgh. He said no one has discussed shutting him down for the season.

“It never really came to my mind,” he said. “I can’t speak for anybody else, but it never came up in conversation.”

Marecic said he changed helmets in hopes of preventing another concussion. Eight Browns players have suffered 11 concussions this season.

In other concussion news, receiver Jordan Norwood and linebacker Ben Jacobs both sat out Tuesday with theirs. With Norwood likely to sit, Carlton Mitchell figures to get some playing time.

“I think there’s definitely a chance,” said Mitchell.

Other injuries: Cornerback Joe Haden sat out practice with a thigh bruise, but said he’ll play in Baltimore. . . . Safety T.J. Ward (foot) also sat out, but is still hopeful he can play Saturday.

Read More: Kerry Rhodes (S – ARI), Sean Considine (DB – ARI), Tony Pashos (OL – CLE), Dave Zastudil (P – ARI), Artis Hicks (OT – CLE), Brandon Keith (OT – ARI), Shawn Lauvao (OL – CLE), Colt McCoy (QB – CLE), T.J. Ward (DB – CLE), Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are playing their best football of the season and they will look to continue their winning ways this Sunday against a struggling Cleveland Browns team. Fortunately for the Cardinals, it appears they will have most of their starters healthy and ready to go for Sunday. Beanie Wells is reportedly healthy and ready to go for Arizona, while quarterback Colt McCoy will miss the game with a concussion.

Here is the full injury report from Friday:

Cardinals:

• Did Not Participate In Practice: S Sean Considine (foot)
• Limited Participation: T Brandon Keith (ankle), QB Kevin Kolb (head), LB Joey Porter (knee), WR DeMarco Sampson (ribs), P Dave Zastudil (biceps)
• Full Participation: LB Clark Haggans (hamstring), TE Rob Housler (shoulder), S Kerry Rhodes (foot), RB Chris Wells (knee)

Browns:

• Did Not Participate In Practice: RB Owen Marecic (head, ankle), QB Colt McCoy (head, left hand), DT Brian Schaefering (ankle), S T.J. Ward (foot), TE Benjamin Watson (head)
• Limited Participation: WR Joshua Cribbs (groin), RB Montario Hardesty (calf), G Artis Hicks (shoulder), G Shawn Lauvao (ankle), T Tony Pashos (ankle), LB Quinton Spears (hamstring)
• Full Participation: DE Jabaal Sheard (forearm)

For more on the Cardinals, head on over to Revenge Of The Birds.

BEREA, Ohio — “You play to win the game,” an old coach named Herman Edwards once said.

He meant when the ESPN oompah band isn’t around and when the playoffs are unlikely. Edwards’ observation is the heart of the NFL’s “on any given Sunday” (or Thursday) mantra.

That might be a difficult sell to anyone who saw Thursday night’s Browns loss at Pittsburgh, however.

The Browns seemed to have knocked Ben Roethlisberger out of the game late in the first half in Pittsburgh. But he came back, like the trouble that has persistently found him off the field.

If the Browns are ever good again, if this game were in the playoffs or for a playoff berth, it would be remembered for Roethlisberger’s emergence as the next Willie Mays, John Elway, or Michael Jordan. They were great players who broke the hearts of valiant Cleveland teams. The NFL Network’s Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock were practically playing a fife and drum in tribute to Big Ben.

The Browns’ Colt McCoy was courageous, too. The Browns trailed, 7-3, in the fourth quarter when McCoy was blasted backward and left limp on the grass by another of James Harrison’s killer shots to the head on Browns players. In the past two years, he has put Mohamed Massaquoi, Josh Cribbs and McCoy out of games, although the latter only briefly.

But McCoy had also run out of the pocket on the play. He was a ballcarrier then, a threat to run before flipping a short pass to Montario Hardesty. Harrison’s helmet-to-helmet shot was obviously a penalty, but there is also the question of what he was supposed to do? Back off? Brake his momentum on a potential stop against a player who had scrambled to the lip of the goal-line earlier in the game?

After the game, coach Pat Shurmur said McCoy began exhibiting symptoms of a concussion. McCoy’s father and his former high school coach, Brad McCoy, criticized the Browns’ medical staff and coaches Friday for putting his son back in the game. Shurmur said if Colt McCoy hadn’t been cleared to play, he never would have been sent back in. Frankly, this will do McCoy no favors in the Browns’ organization.

Backup quarterback Seneca Wallace entered the game upon McCoy’s departure. His second play was a pretty 13-yard pass to Evan Moore that carried to the Steelers’ 5. It might have been the best pass of the day by a Browns quarterback. Even McCoy’s first-drive completions, on the intermediate routes he usually spurns, necessitated twisting, turning, leaping catches by his receivers.

Now, one pass does not a season or even a comeback make. But Wallace to Moore looked like Steve Young to Jerry Rice, compared with what occurred when McCoy returned to the game on first-and-goal at the 5.

Maybe McCoy wanted back in because of his competitiveness. Pittsburgh had put Big Ben with his bad ankle back in, after all. Maybe McCoy also knows his future with the Browns is on the line in the last weeks of the season. Maybe the Browns also wanted to check under heat the Petri dish McCoy has become to see if anything but mediocrity buds were growing there.

Shurmur said, after the quarterback passed a quick series of sideline tests designed to detect a concussion, McCoy told him, “I’m ready to roll.”

Two other Browns suffered concussions in the Pittsburgh game — Owen Marecic and Ben Watson. Neither returned. That can be read as proof of the Browns’ caution, or of McCoy’s ability to convince those who wanted to believe him.

Wallace is a better scrambler than McCoy, he had been spared the beating McCoy had taken and he was fresher. These points became issues because McCoy looked anything but ready to roll.

On first down, Harrison, in hot pursuit again, swatted at McCoy’s heels, tripping him up and leading to an obvious intentional-grounding call after McCoy’s underhanded pass was aimed at no one in particular.

From the 16 on third down after the penalty, McCoy stood in the pocket, with the play well-blocked, and threw late and short to Mohamed Massaquoi in the corner of the end zone. Shurmur said Massaquoi had to play better defense and try to knock down the ball on the throw. In any event, Pittsburgh’s William Gay plucked it like a peeled grape. Gone was the last chance for Cleveland.

Said Shurmur, when asked if McCoy was the best chance to win, “There is no doubt in my mind. That doesn’t mean I don’t have confidence in Seneca.”

Experts in medical ethics can debate McCoy’s fitness to play after he was leveled. Shurmur can try to have it both ways with his quarterbacks.

Strategically, in their equivalent to the Ohio State-Michigan game, when a victory would have made a miserable season less so, when their starter had just been savagely belted out of the game, Seneca Wallace gave the Browns the best chance to win.

Peyton Hillis is playing in the Thursday, December 8, 2011 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Colt McCoy and Montario Hardesty will also be in uniform and on the field. They are a bit banged up, but ready to take on the black and gold and, hopefully, bring a win back to Cleveland.

The only really notable player that will not take the field is T.J. Ward – a Browns’ safety – and he will be replaced by Usama Young as usual.

Now, can the Browns win? This is always a question with the Browns unfortunately. We had a shot against the Ravens last week, especially when the Ravens missed two field goals.

The receivers have to actually catch the ball. I know, I know, this should go without saying, but the Browns have the NFL record for most drops. To be fair, the Browns are actually tied for most drops with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. I digress, McCoy has finally started to throw some relatively decent passes, but if these are not caught [by Browns' receivers] then those passes really do not mean much. Also, if those passes are caught by the opposing team, then big problems can occur.

There is also a chance that the Steelers may simply think this will be an easy win and underestimate the Browns and therefore lose to the Browns. Okay, this is a stretch and perhaps just wishful thinking, but we have seen it happen in sports before.

“In the two meetings last season, the Steelers outscored the Browns 69-19,” reports Cleveland.com. It is also important to note that the Steelers who are taking the field are healthy, while a few of the Browns taking the field are not.

To go back to the health of the Browns. This is a big concern. One really good sack to McCoy and he could be in big trouble. McCoy is necessary and he needs to be on the field in the best shape he can be. Of course, Hillis seems like a flower and even a little sack could put him out.

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen is a lifelong Browns fan who grew up in a household of Browns’ fans. She was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and still lives there. Regardless of the trials and tribulations the Browns have been through, she remains loyal, albeit honest about her home team. Follow Rose on Twitter @Rose_Kitchen

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Read More: Colt McCoy (QB – CLE), Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy practiced on Tuesday and Wednesday for the first time since spraining his right knee in a 24-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week and he is listed as probable on the team’s injury report for Thursday’s Week 14 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

McCoy is still aiming for his first win against an AFC North opponent — he is currently 0-7 against division opponents, via the Associated Press. The native Texas made his first NFL start last season at Heinz Field but despite completing 23-33 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown in an impressive debut, McCoy was also intercepted twice and the Browns lost 28-10. McCoy and the Browns suffered an even worse fate on the final day of their season last year, falling 41-9 to Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, running back Peyton Hillis was limited in practice again on Wednesday, just as he was on Monday and Tuesday, and is listed as questionable. Fellow running back Montario Hardesty (calf) has practiced all week and is probable. Like Hillis, safety Mike Adams (shoulder) and tackle Tony Pashos (ankle) are questionable after being limited all week as well.

Linebacker Chris Gocong (hip) and defensive end Jayme Mitchell (ankle) are listed as probable while linebacker Quinton Spears (hamstring) and safety T.J. Ward (safety) are listed as out.