The Cleveland Browns will be missing starting left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. on Sunday when they face Las Vegas. He hurt his right knee last week while making his season debut after having surgery in December.
Wills will not play, along with tackle Jack Conklin and tight end David Njoku, all of whom were ruled out by coach Kevin Stefanski before practice on Friday. Running back Pierre Strong Jr. (hamstring) will also be absent.
With Wills out, Stefanski will have to use at least one backup player and possibly more. This is similar to last week when the Browns (1-2) lost three offensive linemen during a 21-15 defeat to the New York Giants.
Cleveland has struggled with protection, as Deshaun Watson was sacked eight times last week and has been brought down a league-high 16 times in three games.
Wills, a first-round pick in 2020, finally returned to play after knee surgery and rehab but injured the same knee when a New York defender rolled into him in the third quarter.
Wills did not practice this week but had been hopeful about playing. James Hudson III, who hurt his shoulder against the Giants, is likely to take Wills’ place against the Raiders.
Hudson stepped in as the right tackle last week when Dawand Jones, who had knee problems, was ineffective and benched at halftime.
Conklin was close to playing either right or left tackle last week, but the two-time All-Pro suffered a hamstring injury during practice. He has not played since injuring his knee in last year’s opener and undergoing surgery.
To add to their challenges, the Browns placed right guard Wyatt Teller on injured reserve earlier this week. Teller sprained a knee ligament against New York and will be out for at least four games.
