The Cleveland Browns have a lot of interesting situations on their roster, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Those include concerns behind Amari Cooper in the wide receiver room, is David Njoku and Harrison Bryant (along with recently signed Jesse James) enough at tight end and how will the great running back group rotate.
One of the other big questions was the return of RT Jack Conklin to the lineup after last year’s major knee operations. Conklin started training camp on the PUP list before coming off a couple of weeks ago but didn’t play in any preseason games and was limited in practice on Wednesday.
Despite all of that, according to HC Kevin Stefanski, Conklin had a “chance” to play as of Tuesday and as of Wednesday he is still on track to play:
#Browns Kevin Stefanski said Jack Conklin is hitting all the benchmarks heading to Sundays opener pic.twitter.com/pBfFDDo7mw
— Fred Greetham (@FredGreetham9) September 7, 2022
With the Carolina Panthers having DE Brian Burns often rushing from the offense’s right side, a healthy Conklin will be key. Perhaps that is where James’ blocking could come in handy to help chip or double on Conklin’s side.
While young players can develop significantly from one season to the next, James Hudson III seemed overmatched last year when thrown into the fire while veteran Chris Hubbard got injured. As long as he isn’t at risk of reinjuring his knee, a less than 100% Conklin is likely better than either of the other two options against Burns.
