When I think of Thomas Jones, I instantly recall that randomly good Chicago Bears team from 2006 where Jones was the team's starting workhorse running back. That Bears team was dominant. They won thirteen games and got all the way to the Super Bowl before losing a fairly competitive game to Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. Jones had a really good playoff run that year. He averaged one hundred rushing yards a game in three postseason contests in 2006/07.
But besides that season, Jones really had himself a nice career. An all time great one. Definitely a borderline Hall of Fame career! I'd say he's fairly easily a top fifty running back of all time. Maybe higher? I think he's got a solid case for all of those labels based on his career numbers and accomplishments!
Thomas Jones was a top ten NFL Draft pick in 2000. He was selected #7 overall by the Arizona Cardinals and he may have been perceived as a bust throughout the early portion of his career as he did not even manage to crack 650 rushing yards throughout his first four seasons as a pro.
It was not until 2004, when Jones was twenty-six years old, and on his third NFL team, did he have a decent breakout season. Joining the Chicago Bears, Jones nearly ran for 1,000 yards with 948. Jones surely would have gotten 1,000 that season had he played all sixteen games instead of just the fourteen he played.
But still, that 2004 season would mark the beginning of a new, much more successful chapter for Jones's NFL career. Jones would have 1,000 yard rushing seasons for the next half decade from 2005-2009. Jones's average stat line per season during that stretch would be about 1,275 rushing yards, 9 rushing touchdowns, 27 receptions and 156 receiving yards. He also had three receiving touchdowns during those five seasons. That's a pretty consistent stretch of high level, efficient play!
Here is Jones as a youngster in Arizona!
It's pretty impressive and inspiring to see how Jones would turn his career around after those first couple of years in the league. It wasn't like Jones was outright terrible in his first few seasons, but considering he was a very high draft pick, people expected a lot more from him early on in his career. Goes to show that some players simply need some time before they reach their full potential as pros!
Jones is a guy I remember playing with in Madden. Always a solid back. I need to play Ultimate Team on Madden again. Play with some of these legends.
In 12 years as an NFL running back, from 2000-2011, Jones played for five different teams. The Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears, New York Jets and the Kansas City Chiefs. I wonder if the fact that he bounced around a bit makes his legacy be a bit more forgotten? Nevertheless I believe Jones was pretty great and had a solid career!
Jones appeared in 180 NFL games, and he started 125 of them. In that time here are some of Jones's accomplishments and stats:
- 10,591 Career Rushing Yards - 26th All-Time in NFL History
- 5x 1,000 Rushing Yard Seasons - Accomplished consecutively from 2005-2009
- 2,023 Career Receiving Yards
- 12,614 Career Yards From Scrimmage - 56th All-Time in NFL History
- 271 Kick Return Yards
- 12,885 All-Purpose Yards - 75th All-Time in NFL History
- 68 Rushing Touchdowns - 36th All-Time in NFL History
- 3 Receiving Touchdowns
- 71 Total Touchdowns
- 308 Receptions
- 1x Pro Bowl
- 1x Super Bowl Appearance
Jones also appeared in eight additional playoff games where he totaled 603 yards from scrimmage and five total touchdowns.
Maybe he isn't a first ballot Hall of Famer, but maybe down the line he can be? Maybe I'm being silly, but you could make a case perhaps!
A great back that I'm glad I got to watch play.
Nowadays Jones works on an acting career.
What do you think of the card and Jones's career?
