BEREA — Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz on Thursday clarified the "rep count" situation cornerback Denzel Ward played under during Sunday's win at the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Ward only played 11 defensive snaps in the 18-13 win, his lowest total since leaving last year's Week 10 win at the Baltimore Ravens due to injury. After the game, he said the coaches "had me on a rep count this game, and was coming in on key downs."

The three-time Pro Bowler was on last week's injury report with a shoulder injury, but was a full practice participant. However, Schwartz was asked about Ward's situation during his weekly availability Thursday and indicated it was an in-game decision initiated when Ward came off the field early in the game.

“Well, you know, that wasn’t part of the plan," Schwartz said. "It was just after the — might have been the second play of the game — he came out and didn’t feel confident in his ability to tackle. And he was like, ‘Look, I’ll help whatever I can’, and it became third downs. And not that you still don’t have to tackle on third down, but you’re not feeling the run the way that those guys, and he was trying to battle through it. He’s dealt with things like that before. I was proud of him just contributing in any way."

Ward was credited with one solo tackle and one pass breakup in the game. His pass breakup came on a deep pass to Jacksonville's Gabe Davis on the second play of the Jaguars' second possession, and he made a tackle on running back Travis Etienne Jr. on a 3-yard run on third-and-1 with just over eight minutes remaining in the second quarter.

On Wednesday, Ward indicated the initial injury occurred during practice before the opener against the Dallas Cowboys. He also said that he "felt good" and "ready to roll" for Sunday's home game against the New York Giants.

Ward was listed as limited in practice on both Wednesday and Thursday.

"He started off really well. I mean, had the PBU and they tried to double move him and he just covered that thing about as good as you can cover it," Schwartz said. "So hopefully he’s trying to trend in the right way. But, yeah, that was, I don’t say unexpected, but it wasn’t … the plan wasn’t to do that. That was an adjustment within the game. Just trying to find what role he could accomplish in the game.”

Ward has four pass breakups in the first two games. He played 52 defensive snaps against the Cowboys.

All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett does not practice for 2nd straight day with foot injury

The biggest name among the players not practicing for a second consecutive day Thursday was reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, who has been battling a foot injury the last two weeks.

Garrett has repeatedly said he planned on playing through the injury, including after the win in Jacksonville. He played 41 snaps against the Jaguars, recording his second strip-sack in as many games to go with three combined tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit.

“We want to stay fresh within a game and we also want to try to stay fresh throughout the season," Schwartz said. "That’s just in general, if guys are healthy. But there’s no secret we’re battling a lot of injuries up front. We’ve had a lot of guys miss a lot of time in training camp and preseason and things like that, and they’re all battling. They’re all working really hard to get out there and things like that. …

"You know, Myles is still Myles. He gets a one-on-one and he — sack strip. It’s just getting him those one-on-ones and finding the other complementary rushers is sort of where we are right now. But he’s battling.”

The other Browns player not to practice either Wednesday or Thursday was tight end David Njoku, who continues to recover from an ankle injury suffered in the season opener. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said it was "unlikely" Njoku would play against the Giants.

Defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson was given a veteran's rest day on Thursday. Meanwhile, tackles Jack Conklin (knee), Dawand Jones (knee) and Jedrick Wills Jr. (knee) all practiced Thursday, with Conklin a full participant and Jones and Wills limited.

Cleveland Browns waive 6th-round rookie Nathanial 'Bookie' Watson

The Browns announce Thursday afternoon they had waived linebacker Nathanial "Bookie" Watson. There's a strong belief the move was made as part of some roster maneuvering and that he could return to the practice squad soon should he clear waivers.

Watson, out of Mississippi State, was taken with the 206th pick of April's draft. He made the initial 53-man roster out of training camp despite missing much of it because of a groin injury suffered during the preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers.

The linebacker played 33 special teams snaps over the first two games. He did not record any statistics.

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

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns DC Jim Schwartz clarifies CB Denzel Ward's 'rep count'