Cleveland Browns rookie right tackle Dawand Jones will undergo season-ending knee surgery

BEREA — Dawand Jones was arguably one of the biggest surprises of the season for the Browns. Unfortunately, his season is ending sooner than expected.

The rookie right tackle will have season-ending surgery on his right knee, head coach Kevin Stefanski announced Monday. The injury, which Stefanski called a new one and not the injury the rookie dealt with in November, occurred in practice this past Thursday.

A source confirmed to the Beacon Journal it is a torn MCL which Jones will undergo surgery on. Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot was the first to report the nature of the injury.

"I've seen Dawand make great strides on and off the field," Stefanski said Monday. "And I think we have a great room. That offensive line room, obviously, with the coaches, with the players. That's a room that is great for a young player to be in to see how you operate, how you prepare, how you work. And I thought he got better as the season went on. So disappointed for him. But he played well in a lot of these games and he's a young player that I think will just continue to get better."

Jones, a fourth-round pick out of Ohio State, was thrown into the fray early when All-Pro Jack Conklin suffered a season-ending knee injury in the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. He made his first start the next week at Pittsburgh, and did not allow a sack to the Steelers' All-Pro edge rusher T.J. Watt.

The 6-foot-8, 374-pound Jones was seen as a project when he was taken with the 111th pick in April's draft. However, after a shaky rookie minicamp in May, he had a strong preseason performance in which he didn't allow a sack.

Jones, according to Pro Football Focus, allowed just three sacks on 419 passing drop-backs this season. He's also given up three quarterback hits and 15 hurries.

James Hudson III, a third-year pro, will continue to start in Jones' place. Hudson started three games this season for Jones, in Week 10 at Baltimore, Week 11 against Pittsburgh and on Sunday in the win over Jacksonville.

"I'm sad for Dawand," right guard Wyatt Teller said Monday. "I've been praying for him. It's definitely one of those things where it's just been a crazy season, but I've kind of said it all season, but we got a next man up mentality, and I truly believe in James."

Hudson didn't allow a sack during Sunday's game against the Jaguars, often going against talented second-year outside linebacker Travon Walker. He did have two hurries against him on 48 pass-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus.

The biggest issue Hudson had was penalties. For the second time in three starts, he was flagged three times, all for false starts

"While I feel like refs were a little nitpicky with some of the calls, he played well," Teller said. "Every combo I had, it was great playing next to him, pushing out on certain plays and stuff like that. He helped me out and stuff like that. So he's a great teammate, and I believe we'll do more than just know. I truly believe in James."

Jones is just the latest major injury along the Browns offensive line, which was playing with three backups for most of Sunday's game once center Ethan Pocic left on the second play of the second series with a stinger. They were already starting Hudson in place of Jones, and Geron Christian was starting his fifth consecutive game at left tackle while Jedrick Wills Jr. is on injured reserve with a sprained MCL.

Nick Harris, who lost his starting job as the center due to a knee injury in the 2022 preseason opener at Jacksonville, replaced Pocic for the remainder of the game. Stefanski did not provide an update on Pocic on Monday.

"I think it really does come back to (offensive line coach Bill) Callahan and his ability to really bring along everybody," Teller said of the ability to adjust to the injuries. "He works extremely hard. He's a hard coach. He's going to make sure that everybody's playing at the best of their ability, which is a testament to how he coaches. But, yeah, we've had all these different line combinations. … So you got to be able to push through all that and kind of play at your best, even though there's a lot of adversity going on. And I know everybody's trying to do that."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Dawand Jones will undergo knee surgery, ending Browns rookie's season