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Thomas Jones On Browns Radar As Free Agency Begins
March 05, 2010 By Todd Shapiro
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Don't be surprised if the Cleveland Browns actively pursue soon-to-be free agent running back Thomas Jones when the 31-year-old is released on Friday by the New York Jets.
Jones, whose 1,402 rushing yards in 2009 was third best in the NFL, was a favorite of Browns coach Eric Mangini when Mangini was the coach of the Jets.
In two seasons under the tutelage of Mangini, Jones carried the ball 600 times for 2,431 yards and 14 touchdowns. Jones also earned his only Pro Bowl appearance after the 2008 season.
In a league where starting running backs in their 30's are becoming an endangered species, the question will be how much, if anything, does Jones have left in the tank going into what would be his 12th NFL season.
Compared to the other veteran backs on the free agent market, namely Brian Westbrook, LaDainian Tomlinson and former Brown Jamal Lewis, Jones has shown a knack for durability and consistency. He has started at least 12 games each of the past six seasons and rushed for over 1,000 yards in five of those seasons.
Jones' soon to be former teammates believe he has a lot to offer to another team.
Jets offensive lineman Damien Woody was quoted in the New York Daily News as saying, "Some players bring things to the table that you can't put a price on, and T.J. is one of those guys." Mangini saw first hand what the addition of a veteran back could mean to a team back in 2004 when the New England Patriots relied on 30-year-old Corey Dillon to guide them to their third Super Bowl win in four seasons.
The Browns have so many needs across the board that even with 11 draft picks they can't reasonably expect to find long-term solutions to all of their problems in one off-season. Therefore, bringing in a veteran like Jones in an uncapped season (with the distinct possibility of no football at all in 2011) is a low-risk, high-reward proposition.
The addition of Jones could also provide something the Browns have been lacking ever since their return in 1999, veteran leadership. Jones knows a thing or two about winning football having played in Super Bowl XLI with the Chicago Bears and helping to lead the Jets to the 2009 AFC title game. The possible down side is that Jones' production tailed off significantly at the end of the 2009 campaign with just two of his seven 100-yard rushing performances coming in the final six weeks of the season. But with the Browns, Jones could share carries with Jerome Harrison and possibly Josh Cribbs taking snaps out of the "Wildcat" formation.
The number of former Jets players who migrated to the Browns in '09 showed that Mangini built a good relationship with his team in New York, the Brett Favre fiasco notwithstanding. So Cleveland could be a good fit for Jones.
The only question would be is Jones interested in coming to Cleveland. After coming so close to the Super Bowl in '09 would he be interesting in ending his career on a team that is just battling to get back to respectability. The bumps and bruises of an NFL season can be much more painful on a 6-10 team than on a 10-6 team.
With all the uncertainty of this NFL off-season, the one thing that is certain is that the Browns front office and coaching staff will try to find a way to entice Jones to end his career in the brown and orange.
