Jets Land Big Time Back

In a huge move, the Jets stole Thomas Jones away from the Bears for a 2nd round pick. This is a move that is going to take enormous pressure off of Chad Pennington, and give the Jets a more then solid running game. The Jets running game was basically non-existent last year, Jones basically ran the Bears all the way to the big game last year and he will try to do the same for his new team.

The Bears still have Cedric Benson, but he is still unproven and losing Thomas Jones is certainly going to be a blow to their back field. Many Bears fans question if Benson will be able to carry the load next season.

The one concern however is Thomas Jones's age, he's 29 years old, most running backs start seeing a decline in skill around 30 years old. However Jones did not get much action in his first four years in the league, and he has considerably less mileage on him then most running backs his age. Edgerrin James who is also 29 showed signs of breaking down with the Cardinals last year. However James has been carrying the load since he was a rookie with the Colts.

This move makes the Jets serious contenders next year. Jones rushed for 1,210 yards and 6 touchdowns last year and 1,335 yards and 9 touchdowns the year before that. He should post similar or better numbers with the Jets next year, he also was spectacular in the Super Bowl and the play-offs last year, and seemed to turn up his game during crunch time.

The Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum has to be happy he pulled this steal off while filling one of the teams biggest needs coming into the off-season. Jets fans have to be happy with this move and the fact he was able to get the Bears 2nd round pick in return also. The Bears obviously felt it was time to move on and give Cedric Benson a shot, but to unload such a quality player only to move up a few spots in the draft was not a good move on their part. They could have got a lot more for Jones, but they unloaded him for almost nothing.

It's a winning situation for the Jets and Jones. They needed a running back desperately and Jones just wanted to be in a place were he was undisputed and unchallenged number one guy, and he will be because the Jets are his team now.

Sources:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/503215p-424439c.htm
http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/187390