Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah activated off IR to face the Patriots; DT Andrew Billings waived; RB Brian Hill eleva

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (high ankle sprain) has been activated off injured reserve and will spring himself on the Patriots Sunday.

The Browns also activated cornerback M.J. Stewart (hamstring) off IR, waived veteran defensive tackle Andrew Billings and elevated running back Brian Hill from the practice squad to back up D’Ernest Johnson, who will carry the load in the absence of Nick Chubb and Demetric Felton, who are both on COVID-19 reserve and have been ruled out.

Hill (6-1, 216 pounds) is a fifth-year player out of Wyoming. He was a fifth-round choice by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2017 NFL Draft. He spent the first part of 2017 with the Falcons before being signed by the Cincinnati Bengals off the Falcons’ practice squad.

Hill served a second stint with the Falcons from 2018-20 and recorded 198 carries for 945 yards and three touchdowns prior to signing with the Tennessee Titans this past offseason and later released during final roster cuts. Hill hails from East St. Louis, Ill.

Billings, who opted out last season because of the pandemic, hasn’t had much of a chance to contribute this season and became expendable with the emergence of Malik McDowell and Malik Jackson. Signed as an unrestricted free agent before last season, he appeared in six games, but played only 72 snaps for 12.3%. He was the lowest-rated Browns’ defender with a 47.5 PFF grade.

He signed a one-year deal with the Browns worth $3.5 million last year, and the contract rolled to this year when he elected to sit out 2020. Before joining the Browns, he started 30 of 32 games for the Bengals.

The Browns also activated three other players from the practice squad in cornerback Herb Miller, receiver JoJo Natson and fullback Johnny Stanton IV.

Stanton can help run the ball. Kareem Hunt is still on IR with his calf injury, and fourth-string back John Kelly is also on COVID-19 reserve. The Browns will rely heavily on Johnson, who rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown in his first NFL start vs. the Broncos, to be their workhorse back, but they’ll accomplish the run game against the Patriots 14th-ranked run defense any way they can.

If they have to use Jarvis Landry as a running back at times, they’ll do it. They’ll also likely run some reverses and jet sweeps to balance their attack.

On the defensive side of the ball, coordinator Joe Woods is eager for all of the things Owusu-Koramoah will bring to the table.

“Speed. Coverage ability. Tackling. Blitzing. Everything,’’ he said. “He’s a very talented player. There may be a little bit of rust, and we will see where he is at as we progress through the week. I think he just adds another dimension to our defense for sure.”

Safety John Johnson III knows how dynamic Owusu-Koramoah will be.

“He’s one of those guys it is just put him out there, and whatever spot you put him he is going to make plays,” Johnson said. “He’s like a heat-seeking missile. He’s going to pursue to the ball relentlessly. That’s the biggest thing that jumps out to me. Athletically, he is second to none at that position. He is strong. He is fast. He knows how to tackle. He has good angles to the ball.

“He is just one of those guys you put him on the field and you can’t go wrong. A complete player. A great talent. We just need him out there to make our defense a whole lot better.”

Koramoah’s three-game absence with a high ankle sprain is the latest in a long line of unfortunate events for the second-round pick this season. He missed the first five full days of training camp after testing positive for COVID-19, and then gashed his forehead in a weight-room accident and missed more training camp time because of the stitches

During the 47-42 loss to the Chargers, he suffered a throat contusion and taken to a hospital in L.A. afterwards for observation, but didn’t miss time. Then he sprained the ankle against the Cardinals.

“My spiritual side also helps out a lot with that, being able to stay balanced in my emotions and balanced in my thoughts, controlling my actions,” he said. “It has something to do with just making sure you take it day by day, second by second, hour by hour. Stuff isn’t complicated, that’s really what it is.

“It’s all perspective. If you think this challenge may be more difficult than the other, then you’ll react differently. If you start changing up, it can be problematic. I think they were all the same, I don’t think it was nothing crazy.”