After testing his sore left knee before practice Friday, Browns punter Dave Zastudil sat out the rest of the session and is questionable for Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

If he doesn't feel up to the task today, the Browns might sign another punter, which would have to be done by 4 p.m. Kicker Phil Dawson also could handle the chore if necessary.

Zastudil, who has tendinitis in his right knee, kicked inside the team's practice facility on Friday with several coaches, trainers and General Manager Phil Savage observing. After that, he went outside, cleared a spot on the icy-wet grass and tried a handful of punts. He then walked inside and didn't participate in the regular practice.

With the offense failing to find the end zone in four games, the Browns can ill-afford to lose Zastudil, the NFL's ninth-ranked punter with a 44.9-yard average.

In Philadelphia on Monday night, Zastudil punted six times for 277 yards, a net average of 39.0, two inside the 20 and a long of 60. He experienced pain in the knee the following day.

Two doubtful: Defensive end Shaun Smith (calf) and linebacker Leon Williams (knee) are doubtful. The following players besides Zastudil are questionable: receiver / returner Josh Cribbs (back), running back Jerome Harrison (ribs), nose tackle Shaun Rogers (neck), guard Eric Steinbach (back), fullback Lawrence Vickers (ankle) and defensive end Corey Williams (shoulder). Tight end Kellen Winslow will be idle because of a high ankle sprain.

Smith, Steinbach, Vickers, Williams and Winslow did not practice Friday.

Lewis nears 10,000: Running back Jamal Lewis needs 63 yards to become the 24th player in NFL history to reach 10,000 career rushing yards. The Bengals are 23rd in rushing defense with an average of 124.9 yards allowed. In the first meeting against the Bengals on Sept. 28 in Cincinnati, Lewis rushed for 79 yards on a season-high 25 carries for a 3.2-yard average. He also scored one of his four touchdowns on the season.

Lewis also needs to average 84 yards over the final two games to reach 1,000 yards for the season. He's rushed 240 times for 832 yards for a 3.5-yard average.

Offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski said Lewis is battling through some injuries, "but we have to do a better job, we have to get him some holes and opportunities to give him a chance to get going better with the running game."

On Stallworth: Chudzinski blamed Dont? Stallworth's poor season on the receiver's nagging quadriceps injury, the one that caused him to miss five games this season, including the first four.

"He really just hasn't been healthy for most of the season," Chudzinski said. "He's played through it but I think his effectiveness has been hurt by it. I think he's done a good job in terms of a leadership standpoint and kind of fighting through it for us so we're not short at receiver. . . . In the last week or so I've seen him open up and show a second gear that I hadn't seen from him in a long time."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: mcabot@plaind.com, 216-999-4670