Veteran players are notoriously known for doing what they can to get out of having to go through the rigors of training camp. Michael Strahan raised the act to another level last summer by demanding more money, threatening a holdout, then threatening retirement, then using some convenient timing to come back. But I think Kevin Jones tops them all.Last December, Jones suffered a Lisfranc fracture in a meaningless game against the Vikings. The injury made him unavailable all throughout the offseason, and Jones didn't return until the third week of this season. This December, in another meaningless game, Jones tore his ACL (MDS already dropped this knowledge on you). He won't be ready to hit the field until training camp at earliest, meaning he won't be game-ready until well into 2008, if he's ready to play at all next year.
Which begs the question -- will Jones be a Lion when he returns? He already kinda maybe wanted out, and the Lions might be more willing to accommodate Jones, who by Sunday will have already missed 11 games in four seasons and a good deal of '08 as well. But these aren't the terms Jones, who's actually performed well this year when given the ball, wants to go out on. The Lions probably won't make a decision on Jones until roster deadlines in August, and by then we'll have a clear idea of when Jones will be ready to play. If the Lions cut him because he won't be ready, what team will take that risk? As for Detroit, luckily they've got Tatum Bell to pick up the sla ... wait, what ever happened to Tatum Bell?
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. You cant release a player that is attempting to come back from injury until he see's the field or a team reaches an injury settlement with him per the collective bargaining agreement numbnuts.
Posted at 11:12PM on Dec 26th 2007 by pmf