Just days removed from learning that rookie right tackle Dawand Jones will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, bad news struck the offensive line again as another lineman's season is over.
As first reported by Bleacher Report and now confirmed, starting left tackle Jedrick Wills underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday morning and will now finish out the season on the IR.
Wills has been on the injured reserve since Nov. 7 dealing with a knee injury suffered in the Browns Week 9 win over the Cardinals. Last week marked the beginning of the window in which he could have returned to the practice field, which the team didn't exercise. There was hope within the organization that his noted MCL injury wouldn't sideline Wills for the rest of 2023, now it will.
It goes without saying that Cleveland could have used a Wills return during this final four-game stretch of the regular season. With news that the former first-round pick is done for the season, the Browns have now lost both their starting tackles – Jack Conklin being the other – and their top backup in Jones, who had provided some surprising stability to the o-line since taking over for Conklin in Week 2. Interestingly enough, each member of that trio had their season cut short due to a knee injury.
Injuries haven't just ravaged the bookends of the Browns offensive line. Wills is now the eighth player to have his season cut short due to injury. Along with Conklin and Jones, that list includes: linebacker Jacob Phillips, returner/WR Jakeem Grant, running back Nick Chubb, safety Rodney McCleod and of course, quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Somehow, someway, Cleveland has manged to get produce an 8-5 record to this point, despite being ravaged by so many injuries to key players. In many ways they have become a living embodiment of the cliché, "next man up" mentality.
The next men up in place of Jones and Wills will be James Hudson III and Geron Christian, the latter of whom has been starting in Wills place over the last month anyway.
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