In the midst of an injury riddled season, the Browns finally received some positive injury news.
On Thursday, rookie right tackle Dawand Jones returned to practice for Cleveland, after sitting out the team's win over Baltimore due to shoulder and knee injuries. It is a step in the right direction toward Jones suiting up in a critical AFC North matchup against the Steelers this weekend.
However, Alex Van Pelt did pump the breaks on any guarantees, saying he "wasn't sure" if Jones would be ready to play, Sunday.
With the news that star quarterback, Deshaun Watson needs season-ending shoulder surgery coming down on Wednesday, it's officially all hands on deck for Cleveland as the offense is entrusted to rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Nursing the offensive line back to as close to full strength as possible in front of the fifth-round pick would be a nice boost, granted that unit will still be short-handed.
The Browns have been depleted at the tackle position since Week 1 when veteran Jack Conklin went down with a season-ending knee injury. That unfortunate situation is what actually paved the way for Jones to take over the role at right tackle and he's done a formidable job to this point. Meanwhile, former first-round pick Jedrick Wills is sidelined for an extended period of time as well, after suffering a an MCL injury against the Cardinals.
Last week that left the Browns starting backup James Hudson III and Geron Christian , who had been on the team's practice squad for just over a week. Van Pelt believed they held their own against a good Ravens pass rush.
"I thought the entire o-line played really well," Van Pelt said. "Internal three are excellent, they've been solid all year. The edge guys did their job. I was proud of them.
Jones would restore at least some stability to the edge of Cleveland's offensive line, that will have its hands full with the likes of
on Sunday. It's unclear if the team would consider moving Jones to left tackle, or who the team would tab to start opposite of the Ohio State product. Hudson has generally been the next man up for Cleveland, but it's worth noting that Christian's only other start this season was against Pittsburgh when he was still with the
.
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