New Cleveland Browns right tackle Jack Conklin knew he’d have many teams trying to sign him as a free agent. That comes with the territory of being the top available talent at his position. But Cleveland jumped out right away at the former Tennessee Titan.
In an interview posted on the team’s website, Conklin told Nathan Zegura he felt the excitement from Cleveland right away during his first foray into free agency.
“Cleveland jumped out as what I felt to be the main suitor … it was really exciting to me, for a team like Cleveland to be so excited about me. Me and my family, we wanted to go somewhere where a team was super excited and I was going to be a huge key to help the team.”
That he will in Cleveland. Conklin instantly steps in as the new starting right tackle, and his All-Pro pedigree makes him a major upgrade over Chris Hubbard.
Joining the franchise of his idol, Joe Thomas, didn’t hurt either. Thomas reached out personally to Conklin to congratulate him on signing with the Browns. The future Hall of Fame left tackle’s words meant a lot to Conklin.
“To have a guy that you’ve idolized reach out to you and congratulate you and be excited about you joining the team that he was so important to was huge for me,” Conklin said during the interview. “And I’m excited to hopefully follow in his footsteps and be that person for Cleveland.”
