Afew things remain clear about the Cleveland Browns and their attempt to rebuild their offense this offseason, an offense that was ranked the worst in the NFL by Pro Football Focus last year, for the second straight season, and one that rated as the worst in the two decades that PFF has been giving out grades. One thing that’s still clear is that there’s still a long way to go for this to be a credible offensive unit. Another: There’s still a massive hole at left tackle.
Unless, that is, the Browns are carrying forth some hope that injured left tackle Dawand Jones can, for the first time since he was plucked as a fourth-round pick out of Ohio State in 2023, remain healthy and upright for an entire season. Jones has been a starter in just about every game he has been available–he’s started in 20 of his 24 appearances. But over his first three season, Jones has never finished a year healthy.
In 2025, he suffered a nasty leg injury–an LCL tear and hamstring avulsion–against the Packers in Week 3 that ended his season early. But maybe there is some hope that he still will be up for the starting job at left tackle in 2026.
Dawand Jones Has Been Playing Basketball
A recent video that popped up on Instagram is a reason for positivity, if not outright optimism on Jones. In the video, he is shown playing basketball with his “3uroleague” men’s recreational league, and Jones looks active and even relatively svelte as he rehabs from surgery.
The site noted, “Cleveland Browns own @dawandj (Dawand Jones) made his #3uroleague appearances this week, and let’s just say he is a menace on the court! We’re still counting this as a dunk 💪 Full game video up on YouTube. Go check it out.”
That, combined with recent social media posts from Jones documenting his weight loss has some hoping that Jones can return to action and take another shot at a fully healthy season, for the first time in his career.
Coach Todd Monken said last week that he is hopeful that Jones will be able to participate in the team’s offseason program before the pre-training camp break.
Browns Have O-Line Positions to Figure Out
A healthy Jones could help the Browns fill the left tackle gap, though that’s not necessarily Plan A. One thing that Monken revealed during his interview with the media at the owners meetings was that he plans to take a more fluid approach to positions along the line, though he indicated that he might like Elgton Jenkins at guard with Zion Johnson, suggesting the team could turn to Luke Wypler at center.
Monken did say that great tackles should be able to play the right or left side, though new tackle Tytus Howard has said he was told he would play right tackle–Jones has played both spots. If there is some hope he can handle the left tackle spot, it puts less pressure on the Browns to draft a proven left tackle–important in a draft in which the top linemen available are right tackles.
GettyBrowns head coach Todd Monken
Dawand Jones a Consideration for Browns’ 2026 Line
It’s possible, then, that the health of Jones could allow the Browns to take a top right tackle with an eye on eventually working him into a left tackle, having Jones man the spot in the short term.
And Jones does appear to be earning a look at a return to the starting lineup. He shared a photo on social media of himself on a scale, with the weight at 359 pounds–down 15 pounds from his listed playing weight.
Jason Gibbs, producers for Browns media, said the difference has been noticeable.
“I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised when you see Dawand Jones, he has cut a lot of weight,” Gibbs said on the team website. “He looks lean, he looks fast, he is putting in a lot of work here in the offseason. He has been here very single day. How do I know? I walk into the building with him every day.”
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