It has been a rough start to the NFL career of former Ohio State offensive lineman Dawand Jones with the Cleveland Browns after being selected in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft. In total, over the first three years for Jones, he has started in 20 games and played in 24, missing significant time due to injury, ending each of his first three seasons early.
The Browns have tried Jones on both the right and left sides, and in 2025, he was the opening-week starter at left tackle, protecting the blindside of veteran Joe Flacco. However, his season didn’t go great and ended when he suffered a knee injury that required surgery after the Week 3 game against the Green Bay Packers.
The Browns opened voluntary minicamp under new head coach Todd Monken on Tuesday and got a bit of good news as Jones was present and practicing, signaling he might be recovering well from his knee injury. Jones hasn’t been a great player, but he will be in the mix and could be the swing tackle, given his experience playing both.
He’s got good enough tools and traits to be a starter, and maybe this new staff can put it all together, even though it seems unlikely.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Dawand Jones returns to practice