Show notes
Garrett Bush of the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show and Jeff Lloyd of the Locked On Browns Podcast was joined by Browns Legend D'Qwell Jackson to talk about the impact of newly acquired Deion Jones. D'Qwell also previews NFL Week 6 matchup between the Cleveland Browns vs. New England Patriots.
The Browns had a changing of the guard of sorts at middle linebacker on Wednesday, with newcomer Deion Jones practicing with the team for the first time, and Anthony Walker Jr. returning to the building and watching for awhile from the sidelines on crutches and in a full left-leg brace.
The Browns have sorely missed Walker, who suffered a season-ending torn quad tendon against the Steelers in Week 3 and recently underwent surgery. They’re hoping that Jones, the 2017 Pro Bowler acquired in a trade with the Falcons immediately after the Browns surrendered 238 yards rushing in their 30-28 loss to the Chargers, will ease the loss, both from an on- and off-the-field standpoint.
Jones is even up for wearing the green sticker and calling defensive plays on the field right away if called upon.
“I’ve done it, so yeah, I could do it,” he said. “It’s just a matter of applying yourself, studying, making sure you know everything.”
Coach Kevin Stefanski acknowledged there’s some carryover with what Jones did in Atlanta, but the Browns need to see how quickly he picks things up.
“Deion is a very smart football player, very intelligent,” he said. “Has been in a similar system so we’ll see how much he can catch up. We just really got to meeting with him (Tuesday) so it is crash course when you acquire a player midseason. We will see what he can handle.”
The change of scenery was welcome for Jones, who had his $8.55 million contract restructured in the offseason to lower his cap hit to about $1.3 million. The Browns owe him $760,000 in base salary with bonuses that max out at $1.6 million this year.
“Everyone likes a fresh start, real clean slate, no expectations, just come in and learn and play stress-free,” he said.
Despite the Browns’ loss in Atlanta, Jones has liked what he’s seen from this defense.
“It’s a tough team that plays hard,” he said. “Just one or two plays away from a win sometimes and that’s just this league, you know? One or two plays away, a total of six points (for the three losses).”
His first game back will be against the Patriots, whom he lost to as a rookie in the Super Bowl, 34-28. The Patriots are coming off a 29-0 rout of the Lions in which they rushed for 176 yards, 161 by Rhamondre Stevenson.
“We know the run game, just basically everything,” Jones said. “Just being locked in and moving forward. You can’t make a lot of mistakes with the Patriots.”
Jones is even up for wearing the green sticker and calling defensive plays on the field right away if called upon.
“I’ve done it, so yeah, I could do it,” he said. “It’s just a matter of applying yourself, studying, making sure you know everything.”
Coach Kevin Stefanski acknowledged there’s some carryover with what Jones did in Atlanta, but the Browns need to see how quickly he picks things up.
“Deion is a very smart football player, very intelligent,” he said. “Has been in a similar system so we’ll see how much he can catch up. We just really got to meeting with him (Tuesday) so it is crash course when you acquire a player midseason. We will see what he can handle.”
The change of scenery was welcome for Jones, who had his $8.55 million contract restructured in the offseason to lower his cap hit to about $1.3 million. The Browns owe him $760,000 in base salary with bonuses that max out at $1.6 million this year.
“Everyone likes a fresh start, real clean slate, no expectations, just come in and learn and play stress-free,” he said.
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