Browns: Jack Conklin to miss rest of season due to injury

The moment Cleveland Browns’ right tackle Jack Conklin went down in Sunday’s win over Cincinnati, it was quite clear it would be a major injury. Conklin suffered ACL and MCL tears requiring season-ending surgery, according to reports.

Tests revealed that Browns’ right tackle Jack Conklin tore his ACL and MCL and will have season-ending surgery, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 11, 2023

Cleveland’s offensive line has a few good players, of which Conklin is one, but they cannot afford to go deep into their depth chart, at least this early in the year. This is the second time in four years that Conklin’s season has come to a premature end due to injury. Cleveland signed Conklin to a four-year $60 million contract extension back in December despite having multiple lower body injuries in recent years. These types of injuries do not age well with offensive linemen and could become a problem down the line.

What’s next for Cleveland?

It will be up to rookie right tackle Dawand Jones to take over for Conklin on the right side of the line. The former Ohio State Buckeye showed promise in preseason and performed admirably in Conklin’s place this past Sunday. However, there is a major difference between preseason games/mid-game replacement duty and preparing for a regular season matchup. There is going to be a steep learning curve for Jones now that he is thrust into the Browns’ starting lineup. An upcoming matchup with Pittsburgh’s talented pass rush group could prove to be an issue for the still very inexperienced tackle. The Browns must ensure that Jones receives enough help in his first career start, as the Steelers have shown they can take advantage of situations like this in the past.