For a second straight year, Ty Nsekhe will join a team in-season. After his Rams signing last year, the veteran tackle will join the Browns. In the wake of Jack Conklin‘s season-ending ACL tear, ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes Nsekhe will sign with Cleveland.
Nsekhe, who will turn 38 next month, has started 25 games over the course of his career. Eight of those came for the Rams last season, a campaign that featured numerous injuries on Los Angeles’ offensive line. Nsekhe was with Washington during Browns O-line coach Bill Callahan‘s time with the NFC East team.
Working as Washington’s O-line coach from 2015-19, Callahan coached Nsekhe for four seasons. Nsekhe’s longest NFL stint came in Washington, which employed him as primarily a swing tackle from 2015-18. Sixteen of Nsekhe’s career starts came in Washington. The Browns used fourth-round rookie Dawand Jones as Conklin’s replacement in Week 1. Nsekhe profiles as insurance behind the 6-foot-8, 375-pound blocker. James Hudson, a 2021 fourth-round pick, looms as another option. But Nsekhe will be part of the equation now as well.
Last year, the Rams signed Nsekhe in mid-October. The team had lost then-starting left tackle Joseph Noteboom during a season in which a number of Rams O-linemen suffered season-ending injuries. Nsekhe moved into the starting lineup in Week 9 and, with Alaric Jackson later being lost for the year, started the Rams’ final six games.
Nsekhe auditioned for the Jets in mid-August but did not sign with the team. The former UDFA played for the Bills and Cowboys, respectively, from 2019-21. Prior to his Rams stint, Nsekhe went two seasons without starting a game.
Conklin also suffered an ACL tear in 2018, a development that helped lead to his earlier-than-expected Tennessee exit. The Browns have benefited from the Titans not hanging onto their four-year right tackle starter, signing Conklin to two contracts. Cleveland gave Conklin a four-year, $60MM extension just before last season ended. Conklin’s contract contained only $12.75MM guaranteed at signing, but another $16.1MM — his 2024 base salary, a 2024 option bonus and $3.25MM of his 2025 base — became guaranteed in March. His second Browns deal runs through the 2026 season.
Nsekhe was not good enough to start on a healthy line in his prime. Retread tackles are going like hot cakes at this point (Jason Peters headed out to Seattle).
Very curious that it doesn’t make more sense to pick up mid-round draft picks off of practice squads than to recruit retirees back onto the gridiron. These vintage tackles are not going to get better with age.