The Cleveland Browns are coming off the high of scoring their first win of the season in Week 3, but a big piece of concern was an injury suffered by offensive tackle Dawand Jones. Jones suffered a knee injury on the fourth play from scrimmage in Sunday’s win over the Green Bay Packers and did not return, marking a continuation of a troubling storyline where the veteran blocker couldn’t stay on the field.
Although the Browns may have been hoping for the best, that didn’t happen on Monday morning. Head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters, including Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, that Jones will undergo surgery to fix the knee issue and will miss the remainder of the season.
The injury is a tough draw for Jones, who has been limited to just 24 games in his first three seasons. At the same time, the situation also draws a line in the sand as the Browns may have to look elsewhere for a franchise left tackle.
Browns Must Move on After Dawand Jones’s Latest Injury
The Browns thought they had a steal in Jones when he fell to the fourth round of the 2023 draft as a player who was a fringe first-round pick in terms of talent but had several character concerns coming into the NFL. While Jones got as heavy as 374 pounds during the pre-draft process, he wound up becoming Cleveland’s starter at left tackle when healthy, making 20 starts over his first three seasons.
Of course, the key words here are “when healthy.” Jones suffered a torn MCL that limited him to 11 games during his rookie season and fractured his left fibula after 10 games last season. The issues from the torn MCL haven’t gone away, as Jones required arthroscopic knee surgery that knocked him out for a large chunk of the offseason program.
Sunday’s injury was more bad luck as Jones was injured when Packers defensive back Javon Bullard dove into his knees. While Stefanski told reporters the Browns would ask the league to look into the play, it’s still disheartening for Cleveland to be without its starting left tackle once again.
The Browns relied on KT Leveston to finish the game, but with a 44.6 overall Pro Football Focus grade on 62 snaps, Cleveland should be looking for alternatives. While that’s an immediate concern in the short-term, it’s also a long-term problem as the Browns need to look for a new left tackle.
It’s a tough break for Jones, but it’s the harsh truth that Cleveland can’t rely on him anymore and could have the Browns in the market for a new blindside protector at the end of the season.