Opening day countdowns are great. So are player profiles. Here at Musket Fire, we decided to combine them and create a Week 1 countdown-oriented, jersey number-dictated player profile series. Yesterday, we looked at No. 95 Chandler Jones, and the day before that it was No. 96 Sealver Siliga. Today marks 94 days until the New England Patriots open 2015, so we are profiling No. 94, defensive tackle Chris Jones.
A sixth round draft pick of the Houston Texans back in 2013, Jones bounced over to Tampa Bay during training camp that summer before landing in New England in mid-September. He recorded six sacks, second amongst all rookies.
You may remember Jones as the guy who committed that 15-yard unsportsnmanlike conduct penalty in Week 7 of 2013 against the New York Jets that culminated in the Jets winning. It was one of the most ridiculous calls of the season, and the rule quickly got overturned in the 2014 offseason.
This past season, Jones racked up three sacks and logged time on special teams. He corrected his error (if you can call it that) from the 2013 game in the same situation, blocking Nick Folk’s field goal and earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week Honors.
The Bowling Green product was a useful ingredient in the Patriots’ Super Bowl run this past season. You can see his post-game interview after Super Bowl XLIX here.
What complicates this player profile series is the fact that at this point in the offseason, there are a lot of guys on the roster. 90, to be exact—which means that some jersey numbers have multiple owners. That is the case for No. 94.
We pay focus on Jones in this article because he is the more established player, but we must also pay homage to No. 94, linebacker Chris White.
White was a cog in the Patriots’ special teams throughout the regular season and playoffs, and he deserves credit for his efforts. But it will be tough for the Mississippi State product to retain his roster spot with the influx of rookies at linebacker this offseason.
In case you missed them, here are the profiles for No. 97 Alan Branch, No. 98 Antonio Johnson, and No. 99 Dominique Easley.
Join us on Musket Fire tomorrow morning as we celebrate 93 days until the Patriots kick-off 2015 by examining No. 93, free agent addition Jabaal Sheard.