Browns benched their former first-round draft pick in a loss to the Chargers in Week 9
Cleveland Browns could grab their second straight win in Week 9 and fell to 2-7 on the season with a loss against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers turned a 20-3 halftime lead into a 27-10 win over the Browns. One interesting thing that was known even before the game was that the Browns were […]
Cleveland Browns could grab their second straight win in Week 9 and fell to 2-7 on the season with a loss against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers turned a 20-3 halftime lead into a 27-10 win over the Browns.
One interesting thing that was known even before the game was that the Browns were going to stick with Dawand Jones, even though Jedrick Wills Jr. is back healthy. Jones made his second straight start at left tackle and that signaled that Wills had been benched.
Wills has started all 57 games he’s been available for over the past five seasons for Cleveland. The Browns took Wills out of Alabama with the No. 10 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Wills did get the opportunity to come in during the fourth quarter when Jones exited with a shoulder injury that had him listed as questionable to return. Jones returned the very next drive.
Jones has played in 20 games over the past two seasons with the Browns and all but two of those have been on the right side. It appears that the Browns liked what they saw in the Week 8 win over the Baltimore Ravens, and are willing to see if Jones can be their guy for the future at left tackle.
After the game, head coach Kevin Stefanski said they want to see the development of Jones there after liking what he did in his first game on that side.
Cleveland’s offense showed promise against the Ravens and took a step back against the Chargers. Winston was sacked four times against the Chargers, but most of the damage was done on the interior to the right side. Wills has struggled to latch on as the franchise tackle, so the Browns need to evaluate other options.
The Browns have played all three of their top tackles this season and have allowed it to work itself out. Wills appears to be the guy they’ll have as a top backup option. The former first-round pick is in the fifth and final year of his rookie contract.
Now at 2-7 on the season, the playoffs are all but off the table for the Browns officially and they’ll need to start looking toward the future.
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