CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Hue Jackson has been dealing with a lot more than Hard Knocks and who will be his left tackle during the start of Browns training camp.

He lost his brother John Jackson Jr. unexpectedly two weeks ago and then his mom, Betty Lee, 83, died Sunday morning in Los Angeles on the fourth day of camp after a long illness.

"It's been really tough on him,'' his agent, John Thornton, told cleveland.com. "He's just trying to let football help him out.''

Thornton said Jackson hasn't mentioned it because he wanted the focus to be on the team at the start of camp.

"But to have two tragedies like this back-to-back has been really difficult,'' Thornton said.

What's more, Jackson has had to put on a brave face in front of the Hard Knocks cameras.

"At any given time he's got two cameras in his office,'' said Thornton. "He's doing the best he can not to let his emotions get the best of him. He knows he has to be there for the team.''

Thornton said Jackson's mom had been sick for a long time, and that he had been traveling back and forth to Los Angeles to visit her. The death of his brother was more sudden.

"Losing two important people in his life in the span of two weeks has really hit him hard,'' said Thornton.

He said Jackson has had an outpouring of support from and colleagues in the NFL, especially his closest friends from the Bengals.

Thornton said Jackson will return to LA for funeral services next week after the preseason opener in New York against the Giants Thursday night.

"The people closest to him know what's been going on, and they know he hasn't been himself,'' said Thornton. "Being busy with football has helped, but it's still been extremely difficult.''