Thursday, Nov. 16, 2000

Making the right choice

Jones sticks with Bucs and it will pay off

By Keith Schleiden, Managing editor

In his first NFL season, he had 25 tackles and just one sack. In his next two NFL seasons, he had just seven tackles and no sacks. That’s not first-round production.

The Buccaneers were so disillusioned with Jones that they were ready to give up on him. He was left unprotected in the 1999 expansion draft, but the Browns were not interested. So, Jones stuck on the Tampa Bay roster.

Don’t expect to see Jones on the expansion draft list for the Houston Texans in a year or so. He’s made quite a dramatic change, and has turned around his career. Jones was switched from defensive tackle to end in training camp of ’99, and it has made a big difference in his performance.

Jones scored seven sacks last season, giving just a glimpse of what was to come this year. So far, Jones has 10 sacks in 2000. Certainly, he is getting help from his talented teammates. With the presence of Warren Sapp, Anthony McFarland and Chidi Ahanotu, Jones is often freed up to get to the quarterback. But it works the opposite way as well. With Jones now considered a force, opponents have to focus on him, which frees up one of the other Buccaneer pass rushers.

Because of the way Jones has turned around his career, the Buccaneers rewarded him with a lucrative contract extension. Jones was set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season, but he will remain in Tampa after agreeing to a seven-year extension that is worth more than $5 million annually. He also got a $5 million signing bonus.

That signing bonus is equal to the entire value of Jones’ first NFL contract. As a first-rounder in ’96, Jones signed a five-year deal worth $5 million with a $1.7 million signing bonus.

Had Jones entered the free-agent market next February, there is little doubt that some team would out-bid the Bucs and wind up paying Jones a mint. But I believe his hypothetical new team would have been disappointed on the return they would have gotten on their investment. Jones has certainly developed into a solid player, but he is not a star. At least he’s not a star on his own. Without his current linemates, Jones is just another pass rusher. Put him on the Cowboys’ or Chargers’ defensive line, and he gets maybe five sacks in a season.

But the Buccaneers know that he will be productive for them because of the help he gets. Getting 12-14 sacks per season is worth $5 million a year. And that’s about what Jones should be good for, now that he’ sticking with his linemates in Tampa Bay.

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