The Browns made the rare move to trade for a player on injured reserve, but Deion Jones‘ status changed Wednesday morning. Cleveland designated the veteran linebacker for return.
Jones will be eligible to practice for his new team today. The former Pro Bowler is not yet on the Browns’ 53-man roster, but he is moving in that direction. The team could have him in uniform against the Patriots.
Were Jones not close to returning from his shoulder injury, it would not make much sense for the Browns to make this trade. So the six-year starter will likely be in position to be activated immediately. The Browns still have all eight of their IR-return activations remaining. Jones, 27, joins new teammate Greedy Williams in being designated for return.
Hovering as a trade candidate for months, Jones underwent shoulder surgery back in May. That paused the prospect of the Falcons trading him, but the team restructured his contract to make a move easier. Despite the Falcons taking Jones off their active/PUP list in late August, they stashed him on IR to start the year. The Browns swooped in three weeks ahead of the trade deadline.
The Browns lost veteran linebacker starter Anthony Walker for the season in Week 3 and have been gashed by two backfields since. The Falcons and Chargers each topped 200 rushing yards in their respective wins over the Browns. The latter outing — one that featured a 173-yard Austin Ekeler rushing day — prompted Cleveland to acquire Jones that night. The Browns added ex-Jones Falcons teammate Tyeler Davison, a seven-year defensive tackle, to their practice squad Tuesday. Cleveland can promote Davison to its active roster before Week 6 as well.
Drafted during the Dan Quinn–Thomas Dimitroff Falcons regime, Jones became an instant starter. He played a key role in helping Atlanta to Super Bowl LI and earned a big-ticket extension in 2019. Jones remains tied to that deal, which runs through the 2023 season. Although he adds to Atlanta’s bloated dead-money total, the LSU product — because of the late-summer restructure — checks in at just $1.74MM on Cleveland’s payroll. With that cap hit spiking to $13.2MM in 2023, this amounts to an audition season for Jones alongside Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in Cleveland. Walker’s deal expires at season’s end.
Jones’ 137 tackles last season were one shy of his career-high total. Nevertheless, the Terry Fontenot–Arthur Smith regime made it known his 2022 status with the team was tenuous. The Falcons signed former Dean Pees charge Rashaan Evans and selected Troy Andersen in Round 2. Jones has five 100-plus-tackle seasons and has five career pick-sixes. Only Hall of Famers Derrick Brooks, Bobby Bell and ex-Brown Karlos Dansby have more among linebackers.