Kevin Stefanski says Jed Wills Jr. used 'poor choice of words' regarding benching

The Cleveland Browns' season has been given about a two percent chance to make the postseason if they manage to beat the New Orleans Saints in Week 11. If they lose, the Browns will probably find themselves hovering in the top three of the draft order for the 2025 draft as they desperately need to get some youth and talent onto the squad next season.

So, practice this week and the teams' choices at quarterback, offensive line, and in the wide receiving room should be interesting and telling as to what direction they're trying to go in - either winning games or trying their very hardest to, or purposefully tanking to better their draft positioning.

Read more: NFL expert predicts an abysmal quarterback class for Browns in 2025

One player who seemed to have made the decision to help with the tank is Jed Wills Jr., who told reporters over the week and after the team's bye week that he made a "business decision" to sit out and nurse a knee injury he's been managing all season. Granted, Wills has not exactly been an impact player for the Browns' O-line, but deciding to sit out and then immediately getting benched showed that the team is still a bit serious about players being committed to the team.

At least, that's how it felt initially given Wills' choice of words - "business decision." But, head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters on Wednesday ahead of their first team practice for Week 11 that those words were a "poor choice," and that he had spoken to Wills about the error ahead of practice week.

"I know the connotation of business decision. That's not how he meant it. He did not feel like he was near 100 percent to help us," said Stefanski to a reporter's question about Wills' statement.

Despite poor choice of words, best to bench Wills

Stefanski of course knows that Wills didn't mean to describe his voluntary benching as a business decision, but he was benched anyway. So, that implies that Stefanski was seeking to bench Wills in place of Dawand Jones or another O-line backup standout as Wills has struggled to win any advantages at the line.

Wills is also about to become a free agent this offseason, so while the team could likely get him back on a cheaper deal than what he's on now, the former first round pick for Cleveland is probably going to be allowed to walk as the team has to contend with a huge cap hit from Deshaun Watson's contract and from - presumably - trying to keep Nick Chubb under contract as well.

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