Thomas Jones is soon to be released, and Lito Sheppard's grand legacy with the Jets can be capsulized in three words: One and done. I won't waste much time on Lito because he is simply not worth much more than a sentence or two... he was simply a waste of a roster spot and a draft pick.
As for Jones, he gave us 3 seasons. Year one was a pretty big disappointment. Our GM went out and put together an awesome offensive line. In year two Jones was running behind 4 former first round draft picks and one of the best FB's (Richardson) of this generation. He also had a the QB who holds every major passing record behind center. He put up 1300 yards... lets be real, there are probably at least two dozen backs currently in the NFL that could have put up those numbers given the circumstances. Last year he still had the elite O-line and our his main competition for touches (Leon Washington) went down with season ending injury week 7. So, he put up good numbers again.
He completely ran out of gas in the post season and our fresh young rookie Greene stepped in and simply took his job. When #23 went down in the AFC Championship game Jets fans everywhere knew we were sunk. Jones will be 32 by opening day of the up coming season. Considering the uncapped season that is ahead of us I would have probably held on to Jones like I have said before. But, releasing him is not absurd. Some Jets player was quoted on fannation.com (Sports Illustrated) "I think you should reward players for performance, you dump him (TJ) but you give Gholston another chance?".
Ok, first off... players who release statements on the condition of anonymity are cowards. This isn't the witness protection program. Secondly, this player has obviously never heard of a thing called 'age'. 32 year old RB's are not in demand. Young physical freaks like Vernon Gholston are overpaid all over the NFL, and there is no way to tell if they will ever live up to the hype. We gave up a 3rd round pick for TJ and we got a few good years out of him. On the other hand, Gholston cost us the #6 overall pick 2 years ago. No team uses a pick like that on a player and doesn't give him at least 3 seasons to see if he can make an impact.
Tomlinson and Westbrook are also unemployed and frankly they are both much more dynamic backs when compared to TJ. The Jets dumped Jones because he made it clear he wasn't going to renegotiate his contract, and we can be virtually sure he wasn't showing up at camp without an extension. He would have been an over paid distraction, and now he is out of our hair. The Patriots may snatch him up, but I think his agent (Drew Rosenhaus) has done him a major disservice. He should have worked it out so Jones could have stayed. Jones was well liked by his teammates and coaches, he would have been the starter week 1, he won't find a better O-line to run behind anywhere else... and now he is the 3rd best back on the market.
Two other players who will most likely be gone very soon are Kerry Rhodes and Bryan Thomas. That being said... don't toss out your Thomas jerseys yet. Apparently Adalius Thomas may be released by the Patriots and I am pretty sure if that happens he will be wearing green and white next season. I think that he would be a good addition to our squad... he still has at least one or two good seasons in him. The only thing that worries me is the GM from Baltimore and Belichick, who I consider to be two of the best minds in this business, both let him walk. I will be watching this story as it develops.
As for #25 and #99, I don't see them being released. They both have some trade value, and combined I think they could easily score us a 2nd or 3rd round pick. We desperately need some more picks in this years draft considering the ones that were given away for Sheppard and Edwards. If Adalius signs with us Bryan becomes expendable.
One final thought.... back to the afore mentioned Vernon Gholston. If Adalius Thomas, Calvin Pace, Bart Scott, and David Harris are on our roster (and healthy) in 2010 it's almost impossible to see how Vern will get on the field. He will have a bunch of impactful, savvy veteran LB's ahead of him on the depth chart, and some very inexpensive, hungry 'up and comers' breathing down his kneck (Marques Murrell and Jamaal Westerman). I still have hope, but things aren't looking good in Gholston-ville.
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