Dawand Jones #79 of the Cleveland Browns
Getty
Dawand Jones #79 of the Cleveland Browns
Earlier this week, as the Cleveland Browns gathered for their first meetings of the offseason program under new head coach Todd Monken, oft-injured left tackle Dawand Jones was shuffling into one of the linemen meetings. Jones suffered a gruesome injury in Week 3 against the Packers last year, a torn LCL with a hamstring avulsion that knocked him out for the season, marking three straight times in his three-year career his season had been cut short by injury.
But Monken, since taking the Browns job in February, had noticed that Jones has been at the team facility in Barea, working to rehab from his injury and, most important, seeking to drop weight from the 374-pounds frame he had last year.
And Monken wanted to let Jones, a left tackle, know that he was aware of the work he’d been doing. He told Jones: “I appreciate you being here all offseason. Just seeing your work and what you’ve done. That doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Dawand Jones ‘Grinding All Offseason’
Jones relayed that story to the Browns in-house podcast this week, and revealed that he has, indeed, been dropping weight even as he seeks to add more muscle. It’s not easy, he said. But he has been committed.
Said Jones: “I am doing good. Just been grinding all offseason. Been here, I have been at the facility every day, just trying to lose weight and to be better for next season.”
As for where he is now, Jones said, “I’m at 360, 359, I’m in that range. I just have to keep it there. I want to finish this summer at 350, 355. We’re in that range. That’s not far off, and I just want to shoot for that range. It’s hard to maintain it. You get there and it’s like–eh. I know I’ve got a lot of expectations. I’ve just want to live up to it.”
Browns Have Hole at LT
Both Monken and GM Andrew Berry have said that while the team intends to bulk up at left tackle, presumably in the draft, they also plan to let Jones be a factor in manning the position. Jones is not exactly a reliable option, with just 24 healthy games in three seasons on his resume, but it should be pointed out that he is not the type to let minor injuries keep him out.
He has had terrible luck with significant injuries–the 2025 surgeries, plus surgeries on his MCL and a broken ankle/fibula.
Said Jones: “It’s unfortunate. I just chalk it up to a part of the game. It happens, and you just gotta move on, put your head down and don’t get into a deep hole because once you do that, you can’t really even go back. I just try to take it one day at a time, that’s all I can do. That’s what my mom tells me and my family tells me because you know, I feel like I let them down. I was hurt and they were like, ‘You didn’t let us down.’”
Dawand Jones Wants to ‘Compete’ for Browns Job
Now, perhaps, Jones is ready to win the Browns job back next season. A fourth-round pick in 2023, Jones started nine games as rookie and was clearly on target to at least get a chance to be one of the Browns’ tackles of the future. If the team has any confidence he can win the job this season, it could put less pressure on Berry to pick a left tackle in the draft.
At the very least, Jones wants a chance. “I just want to play. I want to compete,” he said.