New York Jets fans likely gave the old Seinfeld “you hate to see it” response to Jamal Adams’ playoff debut, which saw Seattle lose to the visiting Rams on Super Wild Card Weekend. Well, we can confirm that one ex-Jet did have a huge impact on the first round of the NFL playoffs…albeit one even many Jets diehards might not have heard of.
Blake Hance, a 25-year-old offensive lineman who went undrafted out of Northwestern in 2019, was a member of the Jets’ practice squad this season, and was ready to head home to Florida after Gang Green’s season ended.
Instead, he got the news that the Browns had signed him to their active roster ahead of Week 17 as a precaution; the Browns’ two line coaches, Bill Callahan and Scott Peters, tested positive for COVID-19, and GM Andrew Berry wanted to protect himself in case of an outbreak on the offensive line.
Indeed, a prescient move. All-Pro guard Joel Bitonio tested positive as well, forcing him out of Sunday’s game, and when All-Pro tackle Jack Conklin and guard Michael Dunn – who started in place of Bitonio – went down in the game, Hance moved onto the Browns’ line, immediately lining up against Pro Bowl lineman Cam Heyward.
Baker Mayfield admitted that he didn’t meet Hance until Sunday afternoon – “a guy named Blake who I literally introduced myself to in the locker room before the game,” as Mayfield put it – but thanks in part to Hance, who played 15 snaps, a truly-patchwork offensive line didn’t allow a single sack, and barely allowed the Steelers to even pressure Mayfield.
“It means a lot for our guys to step up. We lost a few guys. Obviously, missing Joel sucks, but Michael Dunn stepped up in a huge way; Michael ends up going down, and Blake, who I just met tonight, ends up stepping up in a huge way,” Mayfield said postgame. “The resilience and the next man up mentality that we have been talking about the whole season and for some of these guys who were not even here while we were talking about it, that just permeates through the whole team.”
As Hollywood as Hance’s debut story is, the story behind him becoming a Brown might be even better. NFL protocols require anyone who changes teams and has to fly to their new destination to quarantine and test negative for COVID for five days before being cleared to join the team, so Cleveland needed to find someone who was within reasonable driving distance.
Yes, Cleveland and New York are about eight hours apart, which is not as close as other NFL cities but doable nonetheless, and as Berry is close with Jets GM Joe Douglas – and apparently previously liked Hance – it was a natural fit, and Berry made the call before the Jets’ finale at New England.
Per Peter King’s oral history of Hance’s week, Berry wanted to make sure he could sign Hance before the Jets left for Foxboro, so they had the Jets’ personnel coordinator print the documents Hance needed to sign for the league to change teams. That was filed, Hance packed his car, and that night, he was in Cleveland ready for virtual meetings; he knew backup QB Case Keenum from their brief stint together in Washington, but didn’t officially meet many new teammates until game day.
And now, he’s on a team that’s among his conference’s final four, instead of the league’s bottom two.
As of Monday morning, Bitonio is expected to be back for Sunday and Lamm, Dunn, and Conklin are all day-to-day, so this may be it for Hance – but, in the parlance of Casablanca, he’ll always have Pittsburgh.
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