Ben

Jones

Jones was released by the Titans a little over a week ago. One of the toughest interior offensive linemen in the league, Jones missed time last season with concussions and a neck injury, but performed at a high level when active. The Jets have already added some interior players this offseason, but that didn’t stop Saleh from mentioning Jones at Monday’s owners meeting. He also suggested the team could pursue free-agent defensive lineman Calais Campbell, who was recently released by the Ravens.

Jones worked with new Jets OL coach Keith Carter in Tennessee. The veteran has a history of stellar play, but missed a lot of time with concussions last season and has seen almost no interest since being released nine days ago. The Jets have already added Wes Schweitzer and Trystan Colon to the interior line in free agency.

The Titans re-signed Jones to a two-year, $14 million contract last offseason, but now, the soon-to-be 34-year-old center will be playing elsewhere in 2023. Renowned as an All-World tough guy, Jones has fought through multiple injuries during his career to get on the field but was sidelined by a concussion late last season. Jones earned a Pro Bowl nod for his efforts last season and should find a handful of suitors in free agency. His release saves the Titans a little more than $3.706 million in cap space.

Jones was also listed with a neck injury last week. He’ll miss at least the next four weeks, including the wild card round if the Titans get there. The Titans signed OL Daniel Munyer in a related move. Jones signed a two-year extension with the Titans before this season and has an $8.2 million cap hit for 2023. He’s been a stalwart for the team since signing in the mid-2010s, but we may be nearing the end of the line. He played in just 12 games this season.

In a year where interior linemen are taking home huge coin, it’s a sensible deal for one of the league’s best pivots, especially since the Titans have a few other questions along their line. Jones might have brought home a little sweeter deal, though he turns 33 in July. Jones has been with the Titans since 2016. He’s a lane paver for Derrick Henry.

Aaron Brewer is Tennessee’s backup center. It would be a blow to the Titans’ offensive line if their starting center is unable to return to the game.

Both interior linemen were held to limited practices all week and are squarely game-time decisions. The Titans offensive line has taken a beating recently with LT Taylor Lewan (ACL) and backup LT Ty Sambrailo both on injured reserve. A team predicated on play-action passing and running the ball between the tackles needs quality offensive line play to stay competitive.

Regardless, Derrick Henry is still set up rather brilliantly this week. The Titans’ workhorse back joins Chris Carson, Dalvin Cook, Leonard Fournette, Nick Chubb and Christian McCaffrey as the league’s only RBs with at least 15 touches in every game this season. Additionally, Henry has consistently gotten stronger as the season has gone on throughout his career, averaging way more yards per carry in November (4.9), December (5.23) and January (4.98) than September (3.87) or October (3.87). Finally, Henry carries a season-log $5,700 price tag on DraftKings and is facing the Panthers’ aforementioned run-funnel defense.

Signed away from the Texans in 2016, 30-year-old Jones had been headed into a contract year. He’s due $4.5 million in 2019. He has never missed a game as a Titan, or even a snap since 2016. He does a solid job at the pivot for one of the league’s better lines.

An interesting fit for the Texans’ zone scheme, Jones prefers to latch on and control defensive linemen at the point of attack rather than get to the second level. Jones does not possess a real one-step anchor in pass protection but has active and sound hand placement with a lower pad level off the snap. A technician in the middle of the offensive line, the Texans landed a top five center in the draft. Adam Caplan of The Sideline View reported that “some teams” had third-round grades on Jones’ game tape.