After 22 consecutive starts, Browns LG Jason Pinkston (No. 62) will miss a start. A blood clot will keep him out of Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts. (US Presswire)

For the first time since being snagged in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, Jason Pinkston will not line up as the Cleveland Browns' starting left guard. His streak of 22 straight starts has been ended by a blood clot. He is in an undisclosed Cleveland hospital. Coach Pat Shurmur provided no other specific information and declined to speculate on how long he'll be out.

Pinkston fell ill during the victory last week against Cincinnati and was replaced by John Greco, who will start Sunday in Indianapolis.

Several players spoke with Pinkston, including his fellow offensive linemen. Among them was left tackle Joe Thomas.

"We're definitely concerned," he said. "Our thoughts are with him. It's a little bit scary. We're definitely going to keep in touch with him, and hopefully things will be all right. It sounds like his spirits are up and he's doing well, all things considered."

Greco received few practice reps last week when Pinkston was healthy. But he performed well when thrown into the fire against the Bengals. The line didn't miss a beat in pass protection or run blocking.

"The whole team was playing with a lot of energy and my biggest thing was not to have any drop-off," Greco said.

Return of the "Cribbs return": Mark Twain once said, "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." The same can be said about Josh Cribbs effectiveness as a kick returner.

Proclamations that 2011 was the start of a decline in his career have been proven to be premature. Cribbs is back to his Pro Bowl form. He ranks third in the NFL in kickoff return average at 31.3 and second behind Buffalo's Leodis McKelvin in punt-return average at 15.4. Cribbs, however, has 20 punt returns to McKelvin's eight.

The numbers are certainly a departure from those Cribbs recorded a year ago, when he ranked 12th and eighth respectively in those departments. His numbers were far worse in 2010.

Cribbs has bristled at suggestions that his dropoff reflected a lack of fire after he had signed a new three-year contract in March 2010. He reiterated his feelings on Friday.

"It's a myth when people say that because I didn't get a serious amount of money," he said. "I don't agree with fans when they critique me like that because I have to perform well to get paid. Most of my contract was based on performance, so it behooves me to perform well."

Finally fine at WR: The return of wide receiver Greg Little to practice on Friday after missing a day with an illness put the Browns at full strength at that position. Little refused to talk about it after practice, stating only that he would not respond to questions about the illness until after the game on Sunday.

The question now becomes how playing time will be divided. The Browns only had three healthy bodies before promoting Josh Cooper from the practice squad last week, but they were buoyed this week by the return of Mohamed Massaquoi and Travis Benjamin from hamstring injuries.

Aside from Josh Gordon, who has emerged as the top receiving threat on the team, it remains to be seen who earns the most reps in that group. The situation is similar to what the secondary experienced when cornerback Joe Haden was suspended and others were hurt. But Shurmur also sees differences.

"It's a little different," he said. "You have to play a specific number of defensive backs. Those positions are a little bit more defined. On offense, you can move guys around. You can move guys around. You can play two tight ends, three tight ends. It's a little different scenario there, but it's safe to say we've had a different lineup at receiver pretty much every week."

Weeden could shatter record: Quarterback Brandon Weeden is on pace to challenge the franchise record for single-season passing yards. He leads all rookies with 1,518. He is averaging 253 per game, which would give him 4,048 on the year.

Brian Sipe is the lone Brown to exceed 4,000. He passed for 4,132 in his MVP year of 1980. Bernie Kosar threw for 3,854 in 1986. Both those teams, however, made the playoffs.

There are two other major differences. Sipe, who led the league in interceptions in 1979 and 1981, tossed only 14 in 1980. Kosar threw just 10 in 1986. Weeden has already been picked off 10 times. Weeden is also on pace to throw 62 more passes than Sipe did in 1980 and 85 more than Kosar in 1986.

Stay dialed in on the Cleveland Browns on Twitter at @CBSBrowns throughout the season with on-site updates from CBSSports.com RapidReports correspondent Marty Gitlin.