Austin Hooper didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday for Week 8

Friday update: Austin Hooper has been ruled OUT for Week 8, per Nate Ulrich.

Thursday update: Hooper did not practice once again, per Mary Kay Cabot. It seems a safe bet he will not play on Sunday.

Wednesday update: Hooper did not practice, and “will likely sit out Sunday’s game against the Raiders,” according to Mary Kay Cabot.

Austin Hooper had an appendectomy just before the Browns played the Bengals last week and his recovery will keep him out of practice Wednesday, per ESPN’s Jake Trotter. The Browns have a bye week in Week 9, so if there is any question to his safety, they will likely hold him out and give him two more weeks of recovery.

And the good news for the Browns is that they are deep at tight end, as Hooper’s backups caught three touchdowns last week, led by rookie Harrison Bryant who had two. David Njoku caught the other one and saw 60 percent of the snaps to Bryant’s 77 percent.

The Raiders are the Browns Week 8 opponent and just gave up strong games to Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski. There is some upside for both Bryant and Njoku, but they will help cancel each other’s upside out, as Bryant had five targets to three for Njoku last week.