A second-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons out of LSU back in 2016, Deion Jones’ career started out with a bang. The linebacker finished second in NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting before earning Pro Bowl honors as a sophomore in 2017.
Unfortunately, injuries and inconsistency has impacted him big time since. He’s now headed out of town. According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Atlanta has dealt Jones to the Cleveland Browns. The compensation is expected to be a swap of late-round picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Jones, 27, is currently on injured reserve after undergoing off-season shoulder surgery. He’s expected back at some point soon. The question now becomes whether Jones is actually able to help a Browns team that’s coming off another loss and sits at 2-3 on the season.
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What version of Deion Jones are the Cleveland Browns getting?
As we noted above, Jones was stellar throughout his first two NFL seasons. He had three interceptions and two touchdowns as a rookie in 2016 before turning into one of the best all-around linebackers in the game.
- Deion Jones stats (2016-17): 166 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 6 INT, 2 TD
Jones then missed 10 games in 2018 due to a foot injury. After signing a four-year, $57 million contract extension ahead of the 2019 season, his play dropped off big time. He struggled big time under new defensive coordinator Dean Pees last season, yielding a 78.6 completion percentage and 115.5 QB rating when targeted. Opposing signal callers threw for a ridiculous 584 yards against the linebacker.
For Cleveland, this could be nothing more than the team buying low on a former Pro Bowler with the hope that a change of scenery helps turn his career around. There’s also an expectation that Atlanta is picking up a nice chunk of his contract. Jones is slated to count $20.18 million against the cap in 2023.
The Brown lost starting linebacker Anthony Walker for the season back in Week 3 due to a quad injury. At the very least, Deion Jones could provide depth.