Dawand Jones health update: Moves on basketball court show big man ready to go

Going into the 2023 NFL draft, the idea that OL Dawand Jones would slide beyond the first or second round seemed highly unlikely. The big man with quick feet played very well at Ohio State and offensive linemen are hard to find in general.

The Cleveland Browns got what seems to be a steal with the selection of Jones in the fourth round. Jones disputed that he dreamed of playing in the NBA but that, along with weight concerns, may have led to his drop on draft night.

Jones’ play as a rookie, due to injury, showed that Cleveland’s player development was “doing something right.”

In the ramp-up to Week 14 of the 2023 season, Jones went down with a knee injury which ended up ending his rookie season. Jones was back on the field to start OTAs this offseason but the limited work allowed didn’t show how his knee was doing overall.

Tuesday’s “Dizzy Runs Pro-Am” in Indianapolis gave us a much better idea of how the big tackle is doing. First, we see Jones following behind on a fast break, fighting for the rebound before scoring:

As noted as “just like old times,” Jones played high school basketball at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis where the Pro-Am was being played.

We then saw Jones showing off his footwork in the post before another putback layup:

While Browns fans, and probably the coaching staff, would like to see Jones being a little safer in the offseason, it is good to see that his knee is feeling well enough to play basketball.

Heading into training camp, who will be the starting five offensive linemen is still a big question. We see that Jones is healthy but Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin also finished the season on injured reserve. There are a lot of possibilities for the line between now and the start of the season in two months but Jones being healthy is a good start.

What do you think about Dawand Jones playing basketball games this offseason? Encouraging that he can play or concerned that he would choose to play?

Share your thoughts in the comment section below