One day before the New England Patriots said goodbye to two of former coach Bill Belichick’s draft picks â defensive end Keion White, taken in the 2023 second round, and safety Kyle Dugger, a Belichick 2020 second-rounder â they also lost an edge rusher who new coach Mike Vrabel named as one of his favorite players.
In fact, Vrabel liked 25-year-old Truman Jones so much that the new coach made the 2023 undrafted free agent one of only four recipients of the team’s “Offseason Awards” back in July.
What, exactly, the four players including Jones did to merit the awards was not clear, but whatever it was would seem to be more good that bad in Vrabel’s view.
Vrabel Named Jones as ‘Favorite’
But Vrabel singled out Jones for special praise as late as this month.
âIâm not supposed to have favorites, but I would say that Trumanâs close to the list if I had one,â Vrabel said, earlier in October. âHeâs an extremely hard worker. I would say that every time we have a show player of the week on the [defense] or special teams, I would say that heâs probably been one of those two, if not both, throughout the year. Heâs done a nice job. He prepares as a starter each and every week.â
Even though he was clearly in Vrabel’s good graces, Jones was assigned to the Patriots practice squad, and on Monday, he got a chance to join the 53-man roster of an NFL team when New England’s AFC rivals, the Tennessee Titans, signed the former Ivy Leaguer to their active roster.
Harvard Grad Signed With Chiefs
Jones signed out of Harvard as undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs, and according to ESPN Patriots correspondent Mike Reiss, “Titans GM Mike Borgonzi knows Jones from their time together in Kansas City.”
Borgonzi was an assistant general manager in Kansas City when the team inked Jones to a free agent contract following the 2023 draft.
But the Chiefs never gave Jones a shot at the active roster, then released him during the 2024 season, on November 26 just two days before Thanksgiving.
Two Shots at NFL Playing Time in NE
The Patriots, then coached by Jerod Mayo, picked Jones up about a week later, signing him to their practice squad. Mayo finally elevated Jones to the active roster for his NFL debut in the season finale, a largely meaningless game against the Buffalo Bills that was won by the Patriots 23-16.
The game was mainly notable for giving the Patriots their fourth win of the season, knocking them out of the No. 1 overall draft slot. New England ended up with the No. 4 pick. The Patriots, with Vrabel in charge, used the pick on LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell.
Jones notched two tackles in that game, one whole playing in the Patriots’ defensive unit, another on special teams.
The former Harvard Crimson standout was elevated from the practice squad just once this season, playing 11 snaps, all on special teams, in New England’s 25-19 defeat of the New Orleans Saints on October 12. But Jones, whose primary position is defensive end, recorded no tackles or other statistics.
He now gets a chance for regular NFL playing time on the active roster of the struggling, 1-7 Titans.
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