Browns lose RT Jack Conklin for the season in Week 1 against Bengals
Injuries are part of the game in football and some of them are just more unfair than others. That’s the case for Cleveland Browns RT Jack Conklin, who is now out for the season with a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee. Conklin went down early on in the game against the Bengals […]
Injuries are part of the game in football and some of them are just more unfair than others.
That’s the case for Cleveland Browns RT Jack Conklin, who is now out for the season with a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee.
Conklin went down early on in the game against the Bengals after he was rolled up on Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson. When being rolled up on, Conklin’s knee buckled and it looked bad right away. The cart was called out and the writing was on the wall for the injury being significant.
Unfortunately for Conklin, significant injuries are nothing new for him. After being an All-Pro in 2020 in his first season with Cleveland, Conklin played in just seven games in 2021 after suffering a torn patella.
In 2022, Conklin was able to play in 14 games but he was still pretty banged up at times. This injury in Week 1 is another tough bump in the road for the right tackle.
“I feel absolutely awful for Jack, the person he is, the player that he is, and what he means to this team,” Kevin Stefanski said in his postgame press conference Sunday. “You absolutely hate to see those things on guys that are such a big part of what we are. So, he’s hurting, I’m hurting, his teammates are hurting for him. But we’ll hold out hope there on that one.”
In the wake of the injury, rookie right tackle Dawand Jones had to fill in for the rest of the game against the Bengals. Jones looked the part and played well with Sam Hubbard across from him, a solid player. Jones will be the right tackle for the rest of the season. It is a bit earlier than the Browns planned to play him, but the rookie has the talent to be very good despite being a fourth-round selection in the most recent NFL Draft.
Next week is no easy task for Jones or the Browns’ defensive line. T.J. Watt had three sacks in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and will present a problem for the Browns in Week 2.
For Conklin, this is just bad news for the 29-year-old who is a very good player when healthy. Conklin is not a free agent until 2027 after signing a four-year deal worth $60 million not long ago. Plenty of money is still left on the table, so it would be hard to see Conklin not out there in 2024 unless he is traded.
Browns RT Jack Conklin carted off against Bengals
It did not look good for Jack Conklin.
Featured image via Sam Greene/The Enquirer-USA TODAY NETWORK.
