The Cleveland Browns’ offensive line issues continue to be a huge concern this season.
The unit, which was once one of the strongest in the league, is now aging and brittle.
They’ve already lost starting left tackle Dawand Jones, who suffered his third season-ending injury in as many years in the league.
Veteran right tackle Jack Conklin is also out with an elbow injury, and he might not be ready to suit up on Sunday either.
With that in mind, team insider Mary Kay Cabot pointed out the team’s glaring needs at the position, and that spells trouble ahead of Week 4’s matchup with the Detroit Lions:
“The Browns had started 12-year pro Cornelius Lucas on the left side, and moved him back to the right when Jones left the game. Second-year tackle KT Leveston took over on the left side, but struggled mightily in pass-blocking, earning a team-low 15.5 grade from Pro Football Focus in that category. In run-blocking, however, he helped pave the way for Quinshon Judkins’ 94 yards with a team-high 79.3 grade. The two tackles finished with the worse offense grades on the team, with Leveston ranking 18th and Lucas, 19th,” Cabot said.
The Lions just sacked Lamar Jackson seven times.
That kind of defensive performance on the road shouldn’t go unnoticed, especially against one of the stoutest offensive lines and the most mobile quarterback in the game.
Joe Flacco isn’t anywhere near as mobile as Jackson, especially at 40 years old, so he could be in for a lot of trouble on Sunday.
The Lions will likely look to bring a lot of pressure, and while that could open up the vertical passing game, Flacco likely isn’t going to have a lot of time to operate in the pocket.
The Browns desperately need to rebuild their offensive line.
Flacco hasn’t been very good this season, but no one would be able to do much better behind two backup tackles.
NEXT: Former Player Sends Warning To NFL About Browns
