Howard Jones (OLB) Will Visit

[KRL]

Never heard of him before but he played for TB.  In 2015 he had 5
sacks in limited time, he then hurt his ACL in 2016:

http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/17009/howard-jones

 

https://www.sny.tv/jets/news/de-howard-jones-to-visit-jets-on-friday/219358492

Howard Jones, a defensive end who can play linebacker in a 3-4 defense and who spent the last two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will make a free-agent visit to the Jets on Friday, according to a report.

The visit, reported by ESPN, will likely be a chance for the Jets to check on his rehabilitation from a torn ACL that limited him to just eight games last season. In 2015, though, he showed a lot of promise with five sacks in 12 games, including five starts. He had two sacks that season in his NFL debut.

[T0mShane]

Belichick will be following this one closely.

[Sperm Edwards]

 

[C Mart]

Long but some history on Jones..

Howard Jones Delivers on Potential

On August 31, 2014, the Pittsburgh Steelers waived rookie linebacker Howard Jones, a Division II pass-rushing prospect they had signed out of Shepherd University. Jones then signed with the Steelers' practice squad and spent his entire rookie season with that crew.

Nine days after Jones was cut, the Buffalo Bills waived defensive end Jacquies Smith, a former undrafted free agent out of Missouri who had been on their practice squad the year before. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers swooped in, claiming Smith off waivers and putting him on their active roster. Though it took a few weeks of assimilation, Smith eventually became the Bucs' starting right defensive end and contributed 6.5 sacks during the 2014 season.

Smith's signing was an example of the continued scouting that teams do after first establishing a report on a player in his draft year. The Buccaneers liked some of his traits and wanted to get a closer look when he became available. Obviously, that decision worked out well.

The Buccaneers' didn't claim Jones around that same time, but they didn't forget about him either. They had been impressed with his work at the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine - he ran a 4.54 40-yard dash and was among the best DE/LB prospects in the vertical leap - and like the Steelers they saw pass-rushing potential. Jones was obviously a work in progress, as he arrived at Shepherd as a 185-pound receiver before putting on 50 pounds, moving to linebacker and setting the school record with 34.5 career sacks in 47 games. 

Jones went back to camp with the Steelers this summer, and when he once again failed to make the last cut to the 53-man roster, Tampa Bay moved this time, signing him to their practice squad. Jones got a promotion from that unit to the active roster last Tuesday. The Bucs were banking on being able to utilize his great speed off the edge.

"That was the No. 1 attraction," said Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier. "We looked at him coming out of college as well and had some dialogue regarding him. To be able to pick him up and take a look at the long arms, as well as the speed, those were two contributing factors as we were trying to evaluate, 'Who could we bring in, what are some attributes that we're looking for?' He had them. The speed, the long arms, the athletic ability, then to go out and do what he did on Sunday, it's a good combination."

What Jones did on Sunday, in his first regular-season NFL game, was lead a six-sack charge by the Buccaneers' defense with two QB takedowns of his own. The very first time Jacksonville's Blake Bortles dropped back to pass, which also happened to be Jones's first NFL snap on defense, the former small-school star made a nice move at the line to find a lane up the middle to the quarterback. One snap into his career, he had a sack, and a drive-killing play on third down to boot. Jones got another sack, again on third down, in the second quarter.

"You take a look at the fact - your first play in the game and you get a sack," said Frazier. "That's pretty impressive. He's adjusting well, coming from a 3-4 there in Pittsburgh and then coming here putting his hand on the ground and getting off the ball. He's doing a good job and we're hoping to get more of what we saw on Sunday."

Just one game into his Buccaneer career, Jones isn't as yet as entrenched in the Bucs' defensive plans as Smith now is after the latter's breakout season and strong start to 2015. Jones also didn't take the exact came path to the Bucs' roster as Smith, who also saw time in Miami and with the New York Jets and even tried his hand for a bit in the Canadian Football League. But Jones did do the same thing that Smith did upon arriving in Tampa, and that's impress the coaches on the practice field, enough so that they felt compelled to give both players a shot.

It's a good thing, in fact, when you not only catch the eye of your own position coaches but the ones on the other side of the ball, as well.

"High motor," said Offensive Coordinator Dirk Koetter. "That kid's got a high motor. He gives good effort every day."

Jones didn't waste any time showing off that motor on Sunday, and in the process he likely earned himself several more chances to show what he can do on game day.
 

http://m.buccaneers.com/news/article-smith/Howard-Jones-Delivers-on-Potential/dd4c4404-95ee-40bb-bfc8-ffabc9231799
 

[Sarge4Tide]

Better Howard Jones Jets Theme Song:

Things Can Only Get Better

Or

No One is to Blame 

 

[TJ]

20 minutes ago, Sperm Edwards said:

 

?   I  thought of the same thing 

[Sperm Edwards]

6 minutes ago, TJ said:

?   I  thought of the same thing 

Even if he doesn't adequately get after the QB, all is not lost. He can help the team in it at home by firing up the "12th man" with his wonderfully catchy synth effects.

I was either going to go with that or...

Maccagnan brought him in just in case of another 5 win season. Then, when summoned to meet with Chris Johnson he can bring Jones along to plead his case with a remake called No One, Certainly Not Mike Maccagnan, Is To Blame.

Option 3 was to say nothing. I'm thinking I should have gone with that.