Rookie quarterback Colt McCoy missed Wednesday afternoon's practice, the Browns' first in preparation for Carolina on Sunday.

Rookie quarterback Colt McCoy was among a group of eight Browns players that were unable to practice on Wednesday afternoon when the team began preparations for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Linebackers Scott Fujita and Eric Barton, defensive backs Mike Adams and Eric Wright, wide receiver Joshua Cribbs, defensive lineman Shaun Rogers and tight end Benjamin Watson also missed practice, while defensive lineman Kenyon Coleman and offensive lineman Floyd Womack were limited.
“They’ll all miss today and they’re all at different stages of their rehab,” said Browns coach Eric Mangini. “I’m hopeful we’ll get some back here as we go. There are quite a few guys there.
“It’s important for the young guys who get an opportunity to get these reps really take advantage of them and make a case for themselves, whether it’s on the practice squad coming up or whether its guys who may not be getting a lot of play time who want to get some more play time,” he continued. “That’s my expectation and as I said, they’re all at different levels of rehab and hopefully we’ll get a group of them back for tomorrow’s practice.”
McCoy went 2-3 as a Browns starter in place of Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace, who had gone down with injuries earlier in the season. He completed 81-of-127 passes for 975 yards and three touchdowns against three interceptions.
“He’s better, better than he was, determined,” Mangini said of McCoy. “I talked to him a little bit last night and he’s very determined to get back practicing as quickly as he can. He really hasn’t had an injury where he’s missed any kind of practice or anything along those lines this is a little bit of new ground for him in terms of what he’s told me. He’s going through it and working at it and we’ve just got to see where it goes towards the end of the week.”
In McCoy’s absence, Delhomme will work with the first-team offense and get ready to face his former teammates on the Panthers. Delhomme spent seven seasons (2003-09) in Carolina and completed 1,580-of-2,669 attempts for 19,258 yards with 120 touchdowns and 11 300-yard passing games, all franchise records.
“His familiarity with Carolina is a real plus,” Mangini said. “I have faith in Seneca as well, but both of those guys, I’m comfortable playing. The familiarity with this team is a real bonus.”
The Panthers practiced without cornerbacks Chris Gamble and Captain Munnerlyn, safeties Marcus Hudson and Jordan Pugh, running back Tyrell Sutton and guard Travelle Wharton.
Quarterbacks Tony Pike and Brian St. Pierre were limited, while quarterback Jimmy Clausen, wide receiver Brandon LaFell and running back Jonathan Stewart were all cleared to fully participate after receiving concussions earlier this year.