At this point they’re just rumors, but apparently a few Cleveland radio stations are reporting the Kelly Holcomb sustained a hairline fracture of his right ankle during yesterday’s game. Holcomb has a history of playing with great pain, including broken bones (recall last year’s infamous Sunday night home game against the Ravens).

If it’s true that Kelly indeed has a broken bone, I definitely question Butch Davis’ judgment. Instead of merely being stubborn by preferring his gimpy starter to an experienced understudy, he recklessly disregarded a player’s well-being, and not for the first time either.

Davis curtly insisted at halftime that Holcomb’s ankle had merely been “kicked” and that he was “fine.” Replays of the quarterback sneak obviously showed a large lineman’s body falling onto the back of Holcomb’s leg, twisting the ankle awkwardly.

Every NFL locker room has X-ray equipment. I’m curious: was Holcomb X-rayed at halftime? If not, why not? If so, was the fracture overlooked, or did it in fact occur in the second half as a result of continuing to play on it? In any event, it does not reflect well on the team’s coach/trainer nexus.

I was critical of Butch Davis’ handling of Jamel White’s concussion during training camp (see my July 30 post). At the time, Davis was quoted thusly on the official site: “One thing this organization has never, ever done is put any player’s health in jeopardy.”

Do you believe this is true?

If Holcomb indeed has a broken bone, he may get points for courage and for a successful comeback, but Butch deserves plenty of criticism for not protecting his player.

And then the question arises: Will he now slither up to Josh Booty, who, after being cut last week, said “Where’s the loyalty?” Where indeed?

Or if that proves too tough for his ego, Butch will probably need to activate rookie Nate Hybl from the practice squad. If events or ankles take another turn for the worse and Hybl plays QB for the Browns this year, it’s Butch who had better be on his last leg.

UPDATE: Coach Davis acknowledged that Holcomb had a “tiny little hairline fracture” of his right fibula. He said X-rays taken at halftime did not reveal the fracture. Holcomb’s status will be evaluated when the team returns to practice on Wednesday.

UPDATE II: I must not have heard the end of Davis’ summary of the halftime diagnosis of Holcomb. According to the Plain Dealer, Butch said, “Finally, they [the doctors] came out and said, ‘Hey look, he’s fine, it’s a non-weight-bearing deal, he’s got a tiny, small, little hairline fracture.'”

So, yes, the team knew Holcomb’s leg was broken, and they sent him back on the field anyway. Only a hairline fracture, you say? Get one sometime. Then let a few 300-pound men charge at you while you’re looking elsewhere. This is the gruesome truth of the NFL: that even doctors’ judgments are skewed by the pressure to keep those warriors out on the field. I’m as big a fan as anyone, but geez, don’t do it on my account, guys.