Dawgs By Nature
Life has been tough in 2025 for members of the Cleveland Browns offensive line.
Once the envy of the NFL on an annual basis as one of the league’s best units, this year has seen age and injuries catch up with what was once the cornerstone of the team.
First, it was left tackle Dawand Jones, who was once again lost for the season after suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers.
Right tackle Jack Conklin went down on the first offensive series of the season with an elbow injury, missed four games before returning, then suffered a concussion in Week 12 against the San Francisco 49ers that kept him out of Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.
Right guard Wyatt Teller was also out against the Titans, as he is once again dealing with a calf injury that has plagued him on-and-off over the past few seasons.
On Sunday, the injury gremlin finally captured center Ethan Pocic, who was taken off the field in the fourth quarter after suffering what is officially being reported as a calf injury but may well be a torn Achilles tendon, according to NFL reporter Jordan Schultz.
When asked about it after the game, head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed that it is an Achilles’ injury that “didn’t look good,” but the team is waiting on further medical tests to know the severity.
If true, it is a big hit not only for the Browns but for Pocic, who is scheduled to be a free agent after this season.
The Browns signed Pocic as a free agent in 2022 after he had five mostly pedestrian seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. With Cleveland, Pocic started 56 games and was the third-best center in the NFL in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus. While never as good, or at least never earning as high a grade, Pocic has been a mainstay in the middle of Cleveland’s offensive line for several years.
If/when the medical tests confirm a torn Achilles, Pocic’s season will be done, and the Browns will likely turn to Luke Wypler, a sixth-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. Wypler appeared in five games in his rookie season before missing the 2024 season after suffering an injury that landed him on injured reserve.
