Slow-playing Nick Chubb‘s recovery as expected, the Browns will give the Pro Bowl running back’s collection of backups some help to start the season. Jack Conklin is coming off the team’s active/PUP list Monday, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reports. Jedrick Wills is expected to follow soon after.
Conklin will practice Tuesday, per Kevin Stefanski, while Wills is not yet ready. The Browns needed to activate both tackles to avoid each beginning the season on the reserve/PUP list, which would have knocked both out for at least four games to open the season. Each has been rehabbing knee injuries. Conklin suffered ACL and MCL tears in Week 1 of last season; Wills underwent MCL surgery late last year.
Cleveland is also not planning to have Greg Newsome on the NFI list to start the season, while Stefanski said (via the Akron Beacon Journal’s Chris Easterling) Dalvin Tomlinson will join the recovering cornerback at practice Tuesday. Stefanski added (via TheLandOnDemand.com’s Tony Grossi) Nyheim Hines is not yet off Cleveland’s active/NFI list but could practice later this week. It seems the Browns are also preparing to move Hines, who is still on the mend from the ACL tear sustained in a jet-ski accident last year, off an injured list in an effort to have him return during the season’s first four weeks.
The Browns finished last season without their top three tackles, with Dawand Jones suffering a major injury as well. Cleveland’s would-be swing tackle did not start camp on the PUP list, representing a rare positive injury development for the AFC North team. Conklin had hoped to return by training camp, but he did not come particularly close. Nevertheless, he will be an option for Week 1. Conklin should probably be expected to line up at his usual right tackle spot, with Stefanski (via The Athletic’s Zac Jackson) stopping short of indicating he would be an option at LT while Wills completes his recovery.
Conklin coming back after his second ACL tear gives the Browns a boost, but Wills needing this much time to return from an MCL issue is obviously a concern. The Browns have used Wills and Conklin as their LT-RT combo since 2020. Wills enters a crucial season, as his rookie contract expires after the 2024 campaign. These issues all come as Deshaun Watson completed a recovery from a shoulder surgery, which kept him off the field during preseason play.
Additionally, Stefanski said Jordan Hicks will return to practice Tuesday. The recent free agency acquisition missed most of this month with an undisclosed injury. Teams do not need to disclose injuries until game week, but the veteran linebacker has a decent chance of debuting for his new team in Week 1.