Dawand Jones is entering a make-or-break season in 2025, coming off a rough year last season where he dealt with a multitude of lower-body injuries. As he's recovered this offseason, Jones has also prioritized transforming his body. He talked about his weight loss during mandatory minicamp, where he said he trimmed body fat and lost around 20 pounds.
During the second day of full-squad training camp practices, Jones has continued to make headlines with his slim figure. This has been a storyline since the spring, but it's a massive development for one of the biggest x-factors of the upcoming season.
Dawand Jones generating positive buzz to start training camp 2025
Left guard Joel Bitonio was among those with praise for Jones, as he talked about the hard work the young tackle put in this offseason to get himself ready for a bounce-back campaign. Bitonio called out consistency as the main part Jones needs to work on, but he thinks going up against Myles Garrett will only help him grow.
"I think he's a lot more comfortable than he was when he was asked to play last year. He's a guy you see flashes with all the time, there's some great plays. For him, we've talked about just the consistency. He's obviously worked to get his body in better shape and he's coming into camp in good shape."Joel Bitonio on Dawand Jones
While the defense is loaded with talent and primed for a solid year, the offense is filled with question marks. The offensive line is among those question marks, as the unit has a strong resume but has struggled in the recent past. Getting the version of Jones we saw during his rookie year would be massive, as he dropped from 33rd in pass block grade his first season to just 88th last year.
Beyond 2025, Jones is the only starter under contract. The Browns do have two first-round picks next year, but having faith that Jones can be a long-term answer as the blindside anchor would be a massive development and allow them to look elsewhere with premium picks next year.