It appears the Cleveland Browns have a communication problem.
It started when Jedrick Wills made a strange revelation on Monday. The former first-round pick has been plagued by knee injuries the past two seasons and missed the second half of last year with an MCL tear, but was believed to be healthy when he was benched prior to the Browns’ game against the Los Angeles Chargers on November 3.
However, Wills apparently revealed to reporters this week that this benching was preceded by a conscious decision not to play the Baltimore Ravens on October 27, calling it a “business decision.” From Cleveland.com:
“I mean, I personally decided that I made a business decision not to play after the Bengals game went to that Ravens game because I was injured. And the next week I received the news.
Wills is a pending free agent and has plenty of incentives to stay healthy for the rest of the season. However, that comment caused a lot of backlash, so much so that head coach Kevin Stefanski discussed the matter with reporters on Wednesday.
Apparently Will doesn’t know what the words “business decision” mean in the modern sports dictionary:
“I talked to Jed, it was a bad choice of words,” Stefanski said. “I know the connotation of ‘business decisions’. He didn’t mean it that way. He didn’t feel like he was close to 100% willing to help us, but it was a poor choice of words and he understands that.”
Stefanski also pushed back on the idea that Wills had suffered a setback with his knee. Wills reportedly hyperextended that left knee, the same one in which the MCL was torn, on October 20 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Stefanski said Wills was simply going through a lengthy rehabilitation process:
“I wouldn’t categorize it as a ‘setback’. It hasn’t recovered as quickly as he would like and obviously there are times when you might get an injury or you might feel it again, things like that, but yeah, it’s a been a tough rehabilitation for him.”
However Wills recovers, Stefanski has indicated the team will be looking to select Dawand Jones in the fourth round in 2023.
