The Cleveland Browns lost Jack Conklin to a knee injury in Week 1 which meant they would have to turn to rookie fourth-round pick Dawand Jones. The Ohio State product was a standout in the preseason and carried that over to the regular season.
Jones didn't flinch when his first assignment was to block T.J. Watt and held his own against the one-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He kept the offensive line on track through his 11 starts but joined Conklin on the IR when he suffered a torn MCL.
With training camp approaching, it's clear Jones is fully recovered from his surgery after the Browns' social media team released a video of him moving well in a basketball game against former NBA players.
Jones was a star basketball player in high school and there were even concerns among some NFL scouts that he could try his hand at making the NBA.
Not everyone is happy to see Dawand Jones playing basketball
Seeing Jones move so comfortably on his surgically repaired knee should but a positive but as is often the case, there are people out there who like to get mad at everything. That includes a faction of fans who feel that Jones playing basketball is an issue.
This concern is, however, misguided. While it's understandable that no one wants to see Jones suffer another injury, he could just as easily hurt his knee in football practice or the gym. Instead of worrying about what could go wrong, the focus should be that this is a player who has had weight concerns in the past — and he's out there getting excellent cardio work in.
He also didn't put on extra weight after the surgery, which is evident in this video. That's where the focus should be. Big Thanos is moving well and shows no signs of being slowed down by this knee injury. That's great for the Browns and bad for anyone he's blocking.
