BEREA, Ohio -- The Browns are making every effort to keep running back Peyton Hillis on the active roster and not on injured reserve, which would end his season.

He's already been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Rams with the pulled hamstring he re-injured in practice on Friday. The MRI showed a significant strain.

"Here's where we're at with Peyton: We want him to get healthy," said coach Pat Shurmur. "We talked about him this morning like we talked internally about the players that were injured yesterday. Our conversation about Peyton was 'how do we proceed to get him back as quickly as possible?' That's where we are."

Shurmur said he talked to his players about revealing to Yahoo! sports last week that they had a meeting with Hillis to help him get re-focused on the season.

"I talked to the players about making sure we keep family business family business," said Shurmur. "How it came out and what got talked about, I've discussed it with the players."

He said he's confident the players will handle things professionally.

"Peyton is out this week," said Shurmur. "He'll be rehabbing his hamstring. Our players will treat this like any player that can't play. When he's healthy to come back and play, he'll be embraced back. That's the way it is."

Shurmur stressed that Hillis will "spend his time rehabbing his hamstring this week. That I can tell you, from now until Sunday." It was a possible reference to Hillis going back to Arkansas to get married the Tuesday before the San Francisco game, a fact that irked some of his teammates.

"He's here," said Shurmur. "Now will he be at practice? I don't know yet. He could be in the building, he could be with [the trainers]. We're going to go through that process, again, try to bring him back as quickly as possible. He wants to be out there. He wants to be playing."

Linebacker Scott Fujita, who was among the captains group that talked to Hillis last Wednesday, said, "I don't think there are any fences to be mended. We're fine. He's working to get back and get healthy, and that should be his focus. Until that happens, in the meantime, we've got to worry about ourselves. That's the focus. Right now, it's about the St. Louis Rams."

As for looking for another running back, Shurmur said the team will do whatever it can to improve its roster.

Still woozy: Wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, who left the Texans game in the third quarter because of concussion symptoms, is undergoing further evaluations. He was sent home from the Browns facility Monday because he wasn't feeling well.

Massaquoi first suffered the concussion Oct. 23 and sat out the following week in San Francisco. Shurmur re-iterated that there was no obvious incident Sunday that could be pinpointed as causing renewed symptoms.

"We're very strict with that protocol when it involves concussion situations," he said. "He was able to compete, he practiced, he followed all the guidelines and standards. [Trainer] Joe [Sheehan] is very to the letter on that. And he got in the game, he competed for a while and then he got woozy, so he came out."

More injury updates: Shurmur didn't have any details about safety T.J. Ward's right foot sprain. Ward, who said Sunday that he heard something pop in the arch, underwent an MRI Monday. Results were not available.

"He's still being evaluated," said Shurmur. Ward also suffered a dislocated finger, but the staff popped it back in and he returned before the foot injury.

Right tackle Tony Pashos got kicked in the leg and his status for the week is uncertain. Safety Usama Young suffered a hip injury and will probably miss some practice time. Shurmur said he'll know more toward the end of the week about cornerback Dimitri Patterson's sprained knee.

Inside the interception: Shurmur said rookie receiver Greg Little ran the right route on the second-quarter pass that was picked off by Houston's Quintin Demps, but "Greg needs to look for the football."

Little agreed.

"I was thinking I was going to beat the guy over top, because it was kind of ambiguous because he was sitting at about 20 yards and I thought I was going to run right past him," he said. "But we were just on two different pages. I've just got to turn my head and catch the ball."

He said he's not necessarily the hot read in that situation.

"It's just something, like once I'm past the first line of defense, just take a little peek and if the ball's not coming then beat the guy over the top."

Little did make a leaping catch of a 24-yard, fourth-quarter pass that led to the Browns' only touchdown. Two plays earlier, Colt McCoy threw deep for Little in the end zone, but the defender hooked his arm and he couldn't reach for the ball. No flag was thrown.

"At that point [on the 24-yarder] Colt is definitely looking to me to make a play," said Little. "I want him to know 'if I throw this ball up to Greg, and it's not necessarily designed to go to him, then he's going to come down with the ball.'"

He said he's working hard with McCoy to develop their timing.

"Let's just get it right and go for it," he said.

On Twitter: @marykaycabot