Thomas Jones

Biography

Thomas Jones (Thomas Quinn Jones) was born on August 19, 1978 in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. After going to high school at Powell Valley (Big Stone Gap, VA), Jones attended the University of Virginia. Jones made his professional debut in the NFL in 2000 with the Arizona Cardinals. He has played for the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the course of his 7 year career.

Jones was originally drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2000 NFL Draft after his junior season out of the University of Virginia, from which he graduated after just three years, never missing a practice or a class Template:Fact. Jones has also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jones is the older brother of Dallas Cowboys running back Julius Jones.

Heading into the 2005 NFL season, Jones figured to see his role on the Bears reduced as they used their top draft pick on running back Cedric Benson. However, a lengthy hold-out prevented Benson from pushing Jones for the starting position at the beginning of the season. After starting the season with a poor performance against the Washington Redskins, Jones proceeded to recover with four excellent games in a row. After a succumbing a to a minor injury, Jones was sidelined whilst Benson filled in as the team's running back.

Jones fired his agent and hired Drew Rosenhaus in April, 2006. Shortly thereafter, Jones did not participate in the Bears' voluntary off season program. On, July 27th, 2006, Jones injured his hamstring during a physical at the Bears' summer camp, shortly after coach Lovie Smith announced Jones would fall behind Cedric Benson on the depth chart [1]. On August 4th, Benson injured his shoulder after colliding with Brian Urlacher during a routine practice drill. While the injury was minor, Benson was slated to miss the first few preseason games of 2006 NFL season.

Nevertheless, Jones managed to retrieve his starting position before the end of the preseason. He scored his first rushing touchdown of the 2006 NFL season during a week four match-up against the Seattle Seahawks. The following week, he rushed for over 100 yards, while enjoying a 7-40 victory over the Buffalo Bills.

After an offseason trade, Thomas Jones became the go-to running back for the Jets in 2007. He got off to a rough start, and only rushed for 1 TD, but still became the 5th back in Jets history to rush for over 1,000 yards.

Statistics

Rushing Stats

Receiving Stats

Kick Return Stats

Passing Stats

See also

• ESPN.com: Thomas Jones Player Card
• Thomas Jones: One-on-One (The Chicago Sports Review, February 2006)