Jets to Release RB Thomas Jones, Adding to RB Graveyard this Offseason

The 30-year-old running backs continue to fall in the NFL, as the New York Jets plan to release Thomas Jones this week. There is certainly a stigma surrounding running backs when they turn the ripe old age of thirty, which is that their bodies will most definitely break down and possibly disintegrate on the field. No matter what shape Jones or many other older backs think, teams will usually begin to go with younger talent around this time.

With the impending release of Jones – not to mention LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Westbrook, and Jamal Lewis all currently out of a job – there is certainly a changing of the guard in the NFL. Many of the bigger names of the last decade are, naturally, beginning to age (gasp!) and the young guns are taking over. Jones, more than any of these previously mentioned backs, has the opportunity to continue being a big contributor on another team. Last season, he rushed for a career-high 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Now, I’m not sure if Jones would be a worthwhile fit in Cleveland, because he is about to turn 32 years old and I like to buy into the idea that, no matter what he says, his body has taken plenty of punishment over the years. In the end, would the Browns really want to take a chance on another aging running back? Word on the street is that C.J. Spiller could be a sleeper pick for the Browns and their seventh overall pick.