Jedrick Wills leaves to locker room for Browns vs Chiefs

The Cleveland Browns suffered a major loss on the opening snap of Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs with the news that Jedrick Wills was lost to injury and even had to be taken back to the locker room.

Wills was later designated as questionable to return for the afternoon by the Browns.

Wills was the first round selection of the Browns in last spring’s first-year player draft and he’s been a fixture at left tackle ever since, protecting the blind side of quarterback Baker Mayfield. He’s been a part of one of the league’s best offensive lines all season, and most recently, he’s been an even more important part given the health concerns that others are working to.

It was only a couple days ago that the Browns were able to activate All Pro guard Joel Bitonio from the reserve/COVID list after he also missed the opening game of the postseason—the Browns’ win over the Steelers. Right tackle Jack Conklin has also been dealing with an injury and was forced to miss practice earlier this week.

Wills was the team’s first round selection at No. 10 overall as a heralded tackle out of the University of Alabama, a year after he was named a second-team All-American for his efforts in the SEC.

Without Wills, the Browns turn to Kendall Lamm to man the left side of the line, a backup tackle who was with the Houston Texans for four seasons before signing with the Browns in 2019 to a two-year deal.