Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills Jr. are getting closer to being ready to play. But their availability for Sunday’s game is still in question.
The Cleveland Browns have navigated the first two weeks of the NFL season without their bookend starting offensive tackles in Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills Jr.
Related: Kevin Stefanski provides injury update on key players heading into week 3
The situation has not gone smoothly, especially at left tackle, where James Hudson III has posted an overall grade of 42 from Pro Football Focus. And even though they were victorious in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the offensive line as a whole allowed 16 pressures on 42 pass-blocking snaps to finish the game with a pass-block efficiency score of 77.4 from PFF, the second-lowest mark from the unit since the start of the 2023 season.
On the bright side, quarterback Deshaun took less of a pounding against the Jaguars than he did in the season-opener against the Dallas Cowboys. And Conklin and Wills may be back in the lineup this week against the New York Giants.
Unless of course, they are not.
#Browns tackles Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin both practicing today. Dawand Jones did not practice, working inside as he deals with a knee injury. pic.twitter.com/72VkHIWqEV
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) September 18, 2024
The Browns were back at practice on Wednesday, and when asked about his availability for Sunday’s game, Conklin said things are trending in the right direction, according to media reports:
“Close, close. Definitely getting better and better every week. I’m feeling better and better every week. So I think there’s a good shot. If this week goes well, be ready to roll.
As for Wills, he is a solid “maybe” to face the Giants, according to media reports:
“I feel like I’m getting there. I don’t know when I’ll be playing. Maybe this week, maybe next week. It’s up to the coaches and the training staff, whatever they choose. It’s a long season, so there’s a rush to come back and be with the team, but you can’t rush an injury like this. You’ve got to make sure you’re 100 percent healthy, so you don’t re-injure it and you can play and be there week in and week out.”
So there you go. Conklin will be ready to roll if he feels good, and Wills might play, but then again he might not.
We’ll get more clues as the Browns make their final preparations for the game, with the biggest one likely coming on Saturday. If the team elevates offensive tackle Germain Ifedi from the practice squad for the third consecutive game it will be a good indicator that Conklin or Wills will be inactive for the game against the Giants.
