CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns made the addition of free agent right tackle Jack Conklin official Friday evening.
Conklin passed his physical and signed the three-year, $42 million deal to leave the Titans and come to Cleveland.
“I'm pumped to get started and be a part of this great organization,” Conklin said. “Going through the process, Cleveland definitely became what I felt as the main suitor. To have a team like Cleveland be so excited about me, that was the biggest part for me and my family. We wanted to go somewhere where a team was super excited and that was going to be a huge key to help the team and be a big part of the community.”
Conklin was selected by Tennessee eighth overall in the 2016 NFL Draft and he was named first-team Associated Press All-Pro in as a rookie.
He started 57 games at right tackle for the Titans where he didn’t miss a game during the 2016, 2017 and 2019 seasons. Injuries limited him to nine games during the 2018 season.
“He’s a really smart, tough football player,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “From what I have heard about him and talked to former coaches and teammates, he's all about ball. I think he's going to really fit in with that offensive line group led by Coach (Bill) Callahan. I think those guys are the pulse of your football team, the guys up front on the offensive and defensive lines.
“I think Jack represents everything we want to be as a team.”
The Browns hope the addition of Conklin will help solidify their line that already includes two-time Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio and center JC Tretter, signed to a contract extension last fall.
“When you're talking about being a productive offense, certainly you have to play in a cohesive manner from the front to the back,” Stefanski said. “Adding pieces along the offensive front really allows you to do different things schematically, and Jack's a big piece of that.”
The Browns also announced the signing of free agent linebacker B.J. Goodson after coming to terms on a one-year deal on Wednesday, the signing of tight end Austin Hooper and the acquisition of fullback Andy Janovich from Denver in exchange for a 2021 seventh-round pick on Friday.
