T Jack Conklin has been selected by his teammates as the Browns 2022 Ed Block Courage Award recipient. The Ed Block Courage Award is given annually to a member of each of the 32 NFL teams who best exemplifies the qualities of Ed Block – the former head athletic trainer of the Baltimore Colts – based on courage, compassion, commitment and community.
After the Michigan State product was drafted No. 8 overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2016 NFL Draft, Conklin was immediately placed into the starting lineup at RT, where he ultimately started 57 games for Tennessee. He earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2016 and blocked for NFL-rushing champion Titans RB Derrick Henry throughout 2019, when the Titans reached the AFC Championship Game. From 2016-19, Conklin helped the Titans rank among the NFL leaders in multiple rushing categories, including rushing touchdowns (70, tied for third), rushing yards (8,266, fourth) and rushing average (4.55, fifth).
Cleveland signed Conklin as an unrestricted free agent prior to the 2020 campaign. In his first season with the Browns, he started 15 regular season games at RT and both postseason contests. He also received his second career first-team All-Pro accolade after helping propel a unit that finished third in the league for rushing yards (2,374 yards).
In 2021, Conklin started seven games while battling elbow and knee injuries. After returning from injured reserve for Week 12, he sustained a season-ending patellar tendon injury which required knee surgery and a strenuous recovery process.
During the 2022 offseason, Conklin spent the majority of his time rehabbing the knee injury at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. He was officially cleared to start and play every offensive snap in Week 3, when the Browns claimed a 29-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football, powered by 171 rushing yards with one touchdown.
Conklin has started every game this year since that date (11 total) and is a pivotal piece of a Browns unit that currently ranks fifth in the NFL (second AFC) in rushing yards per game (149.5), fourth (first AFC) with 18 rushing TDs (Eagles, 27; Cowboys 21; Lions 19), tied for fourth (second AFC) in runs for first downs (114), fourth (second AFC) in runs of 10+ yards (62) and first for runs of 20+ yards (18). Additionally, Cleveland has rushed for more than 150 yards in the first five games of the season for the third time in club history (1947, 2021), as well as three more contests (Week 10 at Miami; Week 11 at Buffalo; and Week 13 at Houston). The Browns eclipsed 170 rushing yards in all eight of those games, the most in the league through Week 14.
Tonight, Conklin will be recognized during Providence House's 27th Annual Deck the House Benefit Auction at FirstEnergy Stadium. The program begins at 6 p.m.
Providence House's Deck the House and the 2022 Ed Block Courage Award presentation is part of Day 8 of Browns Give Back's "10 Days of Giving." Throughout "10 Days of Giving," spanning Dec. 6-15, Browns players, coaches and staff will participate in special community events and make meaningful donations to deserving organizations or individuals as part of the team's yearlong commitment to education, youth football and social justice initiatives, inspiring others through its signature First and Ten volunteering movement.
Providence House, the Cleveland Browns Courage House for Children since 1999, protects at-risk children and supports families through crisis, strengthening communities to end child abuse and neglect. For more information, visit www.provhouse.org.
Cleveland Browns Ed Block Courage Award winners:
1984 WR Willis Adams
1985 DE Carl Hairston
1986 TE Ozzie Newsome
1987 RB Earnest Byner
1988 LB Eddie Johnson
1989 T Cody Risien
1990 RB Kevin Mack
1991 CB Mark Harper
1992 WR Lawyer Tillman
1993 WR Patrick Rowe
1994 LB Carl Banks
1995 DB Bennie Thompson
1999 DE Derrick Alexander
2000 LB Jamir Miller
2001 OG Jeremy McKinney
2002 TE Mark Campbell
2003 DL Courtney Brown
2004 RB Lee Suggs
2005 LB Kenard Lang
2006 K Phil Dawson
2007 DB Gary Baxter
2008 WR Joe Jurevicius
2009 WR Mike Furrey
2010 LB Eric Barton
2011 LB D'Qwell Jackson
2012 P Reggie Hodges
2013 DB T.J. Ward
2014 DL Desmond Bryant
2015 OL Alex Mack
2016 DB Joe Haden
2017 OL Kevin Zeitler
2018 DB Terrance Mitchell
2019 S Juston Burris
2020 RB Nick Chubb
2021 S Grant Delpit
2022 T Jack Conklin
About the Cleveland Browns and Browns Give Back:
The Browns Give Back to Northeast Ohio with a commitment to education and youth football while engaging the community through the team's signature First and Ten volunteer movement. For more information, visit www.clevelandbrowns.com/brownsgiveback.
*Education – *The Cleveland Browns are dedicated to improving the quality of education for students in Ohio by making investments that keep kids in school every day so they can succeed, highlighted by the Stay in the Game! Keep Learning, Every Day Network. The Stay in the Game Network is a statewide initiative designed to promote the importance of school attendance and put an end to chronic absenteeism through a partnership between the Cleveland Browns Foundation, Ohio Department of Education and Harvard University's Proving Ground, as well as the Columbus Crew. The team engages local school districts and promotes quality education by using attendance data and feedback from families to build a school-going culture, uncover and reduce common barriers to attendance and support engagement opportunities for students to thrive. In the 2022-23 school year, the Stay in the Game! Network will partner with 17 school districts, benefitting more than 150,000 students in Ohio. No matter the circumstances, the Stay in the Game! Network will continue to encourage and support students to maintain a strong educational-going mindset to keep learning, every day, aligned with its overall goal to help end chronic absenteeism and provide all students equal opportunities to be successful. To learn more visit, visit StayinTheGame.org.
*Youth Football *– The Cleveland Browns are committed to assisting the development, safety and growth of youth and high school football throughout Northeast Ohio with year-round programming for players, coaches, officials and parents. Through camps, clinics and other initiatives, the Browns' goal is to promote healthy, social, emotional, intellectual and physical development of youth by enhancing opportunities for youth football participation and education.
First and Ten – *Launched in June 2014, the Cleveland Browns First and Ten campaign is the team's community program, established to inspire fans to *#give10 and help their communities by volunteering for 10 hours each year. Through First and Ten, the Browns are the only NFL club to promote a long-term volunteering program that unifies the team and its entire fan base, with the goal of impacting every individual's city across the globe, as well as the franchise's local community. To date, more than 2.75 million hours of volunteering have been pledged through First and Ten. All Browns fans are encouraged to join the volunteering effort by signing the First and Ten pledge on the team's website and by sharing their stories with #give10.
About Providence House
Providence House – Ohio's first crisis nursery – has cared for more than 8,000 families and children in crisis, living for days, weeks or years without the support they need to help get them back on their feet. For nearly 40 years, Providence House has protected at-risk children, empowered families in crisis and built safer communities for every child. Their nationally recognized, evidenced-based model prevents child abuse and neglect, reduces system involvement and foster care placements and keeps families safe, stable and together. Visit www.provhouse.org for more information.
