As Browns players cleaned out their lockers on the day following their final game of the season, a 35-10 loss to the Ravens in Week 18, RT Jack Conklin reflected on what he called a "rough" year.
The Browns won 11 games in 2023, earning a trip to the postseason despite battling through a litany of injuries at quarterback, running back and across the offensive line. This season, the Browns once again suffered injuries at each of those same positions and wrapped up the year with a 3-14 record after struggling to move the ball on offense. In 2024, the Browns averaged just 15.2 points per game – the fewest in the NFL this season.
"I just think we lacked identity offensively," Conklin said. "I think we tried to do a lot of different things, and we didn't really get good at doing one thing. I think that was a really hard part. I think there's a lot we need to fix, and a lot of things really just come down to finding our identity and what we want to hang our hat on."
In 2023, running the football was something the Browns hung their hats on. Even after losing RB Nick Chubb to a devastating season-ending knee injury in Week 2, the Browns ran for 2,017 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2023. This season, the Browns struggled to establish the run and, as they often played facing a deficit on the scoreboard, ran the ball over 100 fewer times compared to the 2023 season.
"We didn't run the ball well enough," Conklin said.
Over the next eight months that separate the end of this season from the beginning of the next, the Browns will attempt to figure out why that was the case – and how to fix it. One reason for optimism entering 2025, according to LG Joel Bitonio, was the improvement in the run game over the second half of the season.
Across the first nine games of the season, the Browns averaged 91 yards per game and four yards per carry. After their Week 10 bye week, the Browns run game strengthened as the team ran for over 100 yards in four of their final eight games, averaging 99 yards per game and 4.2 yards per carry.
"If you look at the numbers of the pass protection and even the run game – we didn't run a lot, but it was a lot more efficient," Bitonio said. "It felt good. I felt like we were moving some people and were getting comfortable. It's unfortunate that the first eight weeks of the season were what they were, but I do think the line settled in as the season went on."
Throughout the first eight weeks of the season, the offensive line had difficulty settling in because of injuries that forced seven different offensive line combinations to start over the first eight games. RG Wyatt Teller missed Weeks 4 through 7 with a knee injury. Conklin missed the first five games of the season as he recovered from a knee injury. LT Jedrick Wills Jr. played just five games in 2024 before being placed on the injured reserve with a knee injury. Second-year LT Dawand Jones, who played well at times in relief of Wills, fractured his leg in Week 11 and missed the remainder of the season.
The priority for Jones, head coach Kevin Stefanski said, will be to get healthy over the offseason. If healthy, Jones could serve as an option for the Browns at left tackle – one of the most important positions in football. Conklin saw improvement in Jones in his second season, and said Jones' relationship with Bitonio was a big part in his growth this season.
"I think he was doing a good job. I think he was fitting in well over there," Conklin said. "It definitely was good for him being a young guy and being able to play next to Joel. To have a vet like that to play next to can definitely help his confidence and help him become a better player."
On the other side of the offensive line, Conklin enjoyed a productive second half of the season. After working back from a season-ending knee injury sustained in Week 1 of the 2023 season, Conklin finished with a 67.9 pass blocking grade per Pro Football Focus, committing just two penalties in the 2024 season.
Conklin, who underwent hours of intense rehab in order to get back on the field, said while the 2024 season was a disappointment, he was encouraged by his ability to stay healthy and productive over the final 12 games of the season.
"It was definitely great to finish the season and come back and play, honestly, one of my best years," Conklin said. "It was definitely an accomplishment, an individual accomplishment for myself and I feel really happy with how the year ended on an individual basis to come back from a third knee injury and still play at a high level."
With the possibility of Conklin, Bitonio, Teller and C Ethan Pocic all returning, Conklin is hopeful that the veteran group of offensive linemen can build off this season and show improvement in 2025. The Browns offensive line will be working with a new position coach, as the team relieved offensive line coach Andy Dickerson of his duties after the season. Conklin hopes the veteran leadership in the offensive line room will lead to a more productive offense in the upcoming season.
