Jack Conklin is cleared to play after being listed as questionable, while Bailey Zappe is officially active and poised to backup rookie QB Shedeur Sanders
Shedeur Sanders got some good news ahead of his first start, as veteran tackle Jack Conklin is officially active for the Cleveland Browns for their matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders.
The 31-year-old was listed as questionable on Friday's injury report after dealing with a knee injury that he suffered in last week's loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He was able to practice in a limited capacity all three days leading up to Week 12 and wound up being the only player tagged as questionable for Cleveland.
Both Conklin and starting left tackle Cam Robinson left last week's game due to knee injuries. Robinson cleared a little sooner than Conklin, though, and was notably good to go on Friday's injury report.
The team ruled out three players leading up to Sunday, including wide receiver Jamari Thrash, DE Alex Wright and rookie QB Dillon Gabriel, who spent the week working through the concussion protocol.
Gabriel suffered a concussion against Baltimore last Sunday, however the team couldn't identify specifically which play it happened on. Needing time to clear the protocol paved the way for head coach Kevin Stefanski to name Sanders the starter early on in the week, looking to prioritize building a game plan around the Colorado product.
With Gabriel sidelined, the team elevated veteran QB Bailey Zappe from the practice squad to the active roster in order to serve as the primary backup to Sanders. It's the first time Zappe will be active for the Browns this season, after starting the final game of the 2024 regular season for Cleveland.
With that aforementioned trio out, the Browns full list of inactives includes:
QB Dillon Gabriel
RB Raheim Sanders
G Zak Zinter
T Cornelius Lucas
WR Jamari Thrash
DE Alex Wright
The Raiders, meanwhile, entered the week with a relatively healthy roster of their own. Star defensive end Maxx Crosby was dealing with a knee injury that limited him at practice on Thursday. He returned one day later as a full participant though and had no injury designation entering the weekend.