Surgery was not on Quinshon Judkins’ Christmas “to do” list this week. One play in the 23-20 loss to the Bills on Dec. 21 caused a change of plans. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski on a Zoom conference Dec. 22 announced Judkins will undergo surgery “this week” to repair the dislocated right an kle and fractured fibula suffered with two minutes left in the loss to the Bills. Fittingly, the way this season has gone for the Browns, Judkins was injured catching a pass from Shedeur Sanders on a play that lost six yards. Up to that point, Judkins had eight carries for 22 yards and four catches for 35 yards. Doctors and trainers rushed to Judkins’ side quickly after the injury. They placed his right leg in an air cast. Judkins hopped on his left leg to the back of a cart and was whisked away to the Browns’ locker room for further examination. “He’s my locker guy back in Berea,” 12th-year guard Joel Bitonio said. “He works hard and he just loves football. To see a guy go and get hurt at that point is just unfortunate. “Hopefully, he recovers quickly and he can get back. He’s young and hopefully everything heals quickly. When you see a guy go down like that, it sucks. It’s the worst part of the game.” The good news, if it can be called good news, is that the rookie’s right knee was unharmed, which means barring unforeseen complications, Judkins should be ready for the start of training camp in late July. “Knowing the kid, he’ll bounce back better than ever,” Stefanski said on the Zoom call. “So, disappointed for him, but he’s in good hands and he will bounce back.” The injury bug has taken a huge bite out of the running back room. Jerome Ford was placed on injured reserve two weeks ago with a shoulder injury. He will miss the final two games. Rookie Dylan Sampson missed the games against the Bears and Bills with a hand injury. The injuries to Ford and Sampson forced Stefanski to dust off Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, who, until the game with the Bills, hadn’t seen action since the season opener. Trayveon Williams was elevated from the practice squad after Ford and Sampson were injured in the game with the 49ers on Dec. 7. Sanders had 11 carries for 42 yards against the Bills. It is too soon to know whether Sampson will be cleared to play against the Steelers on Dec. 28 at Huntington Bank Field. But even if he is, Sanders is expected to get most of the work on running plays for the 3-12 Browns. “For the point of getting reps and helping my team win, that’s what everyone tries to do,” Sanders said. “I got my moment and took advantage of it, but it’s on to the next one from here. “All week, Coach was having all the running backs prepare, because you never know what will happen on the field. I feel like I was prepared, but we lost, so I won’t say much about what I did because we lost.” Judkins, a second-round pick from Ohio State, recently said he did not hit the proverbial “rookie wall,” but in the two games before the Dec. 21 injury, he rushed 14 times for 26 yards against the Titans and 12 times for 21 yards against the Bears. He was on pace to crack the 1,000-yard barrier when he posted 561 rushing yards through eight games. His season ends with 827 rushing yards. Raheim “Rocket” Sanders takes a handoff from Shedeur Sanders during the Browns' loss to the Bills on Dec. 21. (Tim Phillis - For The News-Herald) Steelers at Browns When 1 p.m., Dec. 28 Where: Huntington Bank Field Records: Steelers 9-6, Browns 3-12 Betting line: Browns +4.5 Television: WOIO/CBS Radio: WKNR 850-AM; WKRK 92.3-FM WNCX 98.5-FM ...read more read less