CLEVELAND — The injury bug took a painful bite out of a position group the Browns did not need more bites taken from during Saturday's 23-10 preseason loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Backup center Luke Wypler was carted off after suffering a broken right ankle with 12 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Zack Johnson, who the Browns signed on July 28, played the remainder of the game at center.

"I kind of knew I was going to be going in at center at some point," Johnson said afterward. "Just not exactly ready. You never are ready, I guess. So when the opportunity arose, I came and I conquered."

The problem for the Browns isn't Johnson's willingness to come in a play the position. The North Dakota State product has played exactly one regular-season NFL game, and he did that at guard in 2022 for the Tennessee Titans.

The problem is that Wypler is another injured player, which will require the Browns to continue to shuffle around the offensive line. They're already down two starting tackles — left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. and right tackle Jack Conklin — who continue to recover from season-ending knee injuries from last year, although both were on the sideline watching Saturday.

The Browns lost another potential reserve interior lineman, Brian Allen, who suffered a calf injury early in training camp and was released from injured reserve on Aug. 3. One of their most experienced backup interior offensive linemen, Michael Dunn, has been out for the last week due to an undisclosed reasons.

Undrafted free agent rookie Javion Cohen played almost the entire game at left guard, which won't normally be an issue because of Pro Bowler Joel Bitonio's presence. Rookie third-round pick Zak Zinter played a large number of snaps at right guard after Pro Bowler Wyatt Teller's one series, although Wyatt Davis did play a few series as well.

"We've been low on depth in the guards," said Zinter, who played for the first time since breaking his leg in Michigan's win over Ohio State last November. "So in practice, when we're going with the twos at right guard and then going with the threes at left. So just getting reps at both, getting more comfortable with the left. The more I do it, I don't feel a 100% fluid with it, but the more reps I get, the better I'm starting to feel at it."

Zinter could potentially be an option at center. He said he spent two different spring practices while at Michigan working on the position.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was non-committal on what the next move would be at the position.

Rookie Jamari Thrash displays the talents that intrigued Browns

Jamari Thrash is the latest example of the Browns using a draft pick to try to help improve their wide receiver position. He was taken in the fifth round of April's draft after finishing his college career at the University of Louisville.

Thrash saw his first opportunity to play in an NFL game of any kind Saturday. He finished up with three catches for 43 yards, with all three catches coming in a third-quarter drive that ended at the Packers 11.

"Coming in first game as a rookie, you had the jitters starting all over again," Thrash said. "So playing in a nice stadium, a big stadium with sort of a packed out crowd, I got my first catch and I started getting my feet wet a little bit, started to calm down and just play my game and realized I'm playing football again. Football is football."

Thrash credited quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson for his assistance in that transition. The second-year pro out of UCLA, along with fellow wide receiver Cedric Tillman, were among the first to reach out to him after he was drafted.

A quad injury to David Bell, whom the Browns took in the third round in 2022, could make Thrash even more important, at least short term. Bell left Saturday's game with the injury, although there were no noticeable signs of it when he was seen leaving the locker room after the game.

Quick day for what starters actually played for Browns

The Browns starters were mostly on the sidelines for Saturday's preseason opener. Only a handful actually started against Green Bay.

Teller, running back Jerome Ford, center Ethan Pocic and, technically, right tackle Dawand Jones started on offense. Defensive tackle Maurice Hurst Jr., safety Grant Delpit and cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. were the starters on defense.

The Browns "starting" defense played all of three plays, with the third being a 65-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love to Dontayvion Wicks. The "starting" offense, led by quarterback Jameis Winston, played nine plays, ending in Cade York's 55-yard field goal.

"First drive, got some points," Winston said. "Want to finish with seven, but we got three. I think we started off fast, we countered their touchdowns, so we did pretty good."

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: Luke Wypler's broken ankle adds to Browns line injuries: Takeaways