NFL players are taught to be ready for anything. That's exactly why Dawand Jones was ready to step in at left tackle last week when usual starter Jedrick Wills Jr. was ruled out with a knee injury.
Jones has generally found a home on the right side of the Cleveland Browns offensive line. Some early season struggles, however, forced him out of the starting five once veteran Jack Conklin and Wills returned to action after season-ending knee injuries in 2023. The Ohio State product made the most of his opportunity though and held his own during a 29-24 win over division rival Baltimore last weekend.
For Jones it was just about doing what he could to help the team.
"Whatever the team need me to do, I'm going to do it," he said. So that's really the main thing. Kevin came up and asked me last week, did I want to play left tackle? He gave me a shot and it went well. I just want to keep in on that."
Making the move from right tackle to left tackle isn't always easy, which is why Jones performance was such an impressive one for Cleveland. Jones admitted that no matter how many reps he took at practice even he couldn't predict exactly how it would go once he got out on the field.
"Probably physical. Just doing it. That's the main thing," said Jones. "You could watch as many reps, you could do it as many times, until you actually do it, you put hands and feet on somebody, it don't really translate."
Jones started at right tackle for the first six weeks of the season with troubling results following a superb rookie debut that earned him PFWA All-Rookie Team honors last year. Like his fellow tackles Conklin and Wills, Jones saw his 2023 campaign cut short due to a knee injury. His recovery seemed to linger through training camp and the start of the season, which is at least part of the reason for his struggles.
After two weeks out of the starting lineup though, Jones admits it actually helped him get back to feeling right.
"I would say that that definitely helped me out a lot," Jones said. "Kevin [Stefanski] made the decision. I wasn't mad at it. It's what has to be done, but he also said that same thing to me as well. Whatever injury I'm dealing with, just get better, get it healthy, just be the same guy you've been. Just be ready for your name to be called just like the Bengals game I got in (last season). Just be ready."
Despite only playing left tackle once during his time at Ohio State, Jones looked more than ready against the Ravens last weekend. He looked like he'd been playing the position for years.
It's only one start though. But the 23-year-old knows it can be a potential jumping off point to more.
"Now I can go watch that film whenever I'm having a bad game or a bad day," Jones said. "I know where I stand at. I go watch practice against Myles. I have some good sets against him. I go try to do that. I put my mindset back there to never want to get too down, never get too high, get too low."
