Browns tackle returns to practice after lengthy injury layoff

One of three Browns tackles to see their 2023 season end due to a knee injury, Jedrick Wills has been on the mend for nearly 10 months. An MCL issue led to the end of Wills’ 2023 season and he spent all of training camp on the Browns’ active/PUP list.

Cleveland activated Wills from the PUP list last week, keeping him in play to begin his season at some point during Cleveland’s first four games. Unlike Jack Conklin and Dawand Jones, however, Wills has not yet debuted at practice. That is expected to change Wednesday. Kevin Stefanski said all players on Cleveland’s active roster will practice.

This is a long time coming for Wills, who has missed extensive time with multiple knee issues. Stefanski said Wills went down with an MCL sprain in early November of last year; he underwent surgery in December. Beyond the high-grade MCL issue, the Akron Beacon Journal’s Chris Easterling notes Wills suffered a low-grade PCL sprain and bone bruises in his right knee.

Wills then sat out Cleveland’s offseason program and did not participate in training camp. While he is now finally on his way back, the fifth-year blocker may not be a great bet to debut in Week 1 due to the missed time. Wills passed a physical last week, Easterling adds, but did not practice Monday. This calls into question his availability for the Cowboys matchup, but the team should look forward to its longtime blindside presence being ready soon — at long last.

The Browns saw Jones, their preferred swing tackle who needed to start much of last season due to Conklin’s injury, return on time for training camp after his season-ending knee injury. Conklin did not and missed all of training camp following the ACL and MCL tears sustained in Week 1 of last season. Conklin beating Wills back to work was notable, given the severity of the veteran’s injuries, but the cliche of no two injuries being alike applies to Cleveland’s tackle situation. A 2020 first-round pick entering his fifth-year option season, Wills will need to show good form soon, as this is a contract year for a player who would stand to cash in big — either via extension or as a 2025 free agent — if he returns to full strength.

James Hudson primarily worked in Wills’ place during camp, with veterans Germain Ifedi and Hakeem Adeniji seeing time as well. Adeniji is off the Browns’ roster after an August IR placement, while Ifedi did not make the 53-man roster. The former first-rounder landed on Cleveland’s practice squad, however, with Hudson and Jones in place as the top backups. It will be interesting to see how the Browns’ O-line looks against the Cowboys, as Conklin has also barely practiced since completing his ACL rehab.