The Tennessee Titans continue to make cuts before free agency, but for some reason, Jamarco Jones is still on the roster.
If you have forgotten who Jamarco Jones is, no one can blame you. Jones is a versatile offensive lineman who looked like he was going to have the inside track for the left guard job in training camp.
What made Jones interesting was that if Aaron Brewer had won the left guard job, then Jones has experience playing guard and tackle in the NFL so he would have provided solid depth at both spots.
That would have been great had Jones not been one of the dozens of Tennessee Titans players that missed multiple games with an injury, which was disappointing.
In fact, that is probably putting the disappointment lightly since Jones was banged up in training camp and ultimately was placed on injured reserve before seeing a snap on offense.
Since Mike Vrabel has complete control over personnel decisions, it is curious that a free agent signing from last season that never played a snap is still on the roster. How much should Tennessee Titans fans look into this?
What is the future for Jamarco Jones and the Tennessee Titans?
Something to remember is that things are very fluid in Tennessee right now. One day Bud Dupree might be back, then the next day he is cut.
One day the Titans still believe they can compete and they are going to lean hard on the running game, then the next day Derrick Henry is being shopped at the NFL Combine.
As I am writing this Jamarco Jones might be cut. However, there are three things that are probably factoring into the decision to keep Jamarco Jones for this long.
First, cutting him only saves the Titans $1 million. This would basically explain why he hasn’t been cut, except that Tennessee cut kicker Randy Bullock a week ago for about the same amount of money.
The difference is that Bullock actually was a “starter” on the team whereas Jones didn’t even really make it to a practice with the Titans. This brings me to my second idea which rationalizes why Jones hasn’t been cut.
Maybe they believe that cutting Jones would create a hole on the roster that wouldn’t be cost-effective to fix. Back up interior offensive lineman is a role that can be filled for a very low cost, but can you improve that spot for $1 million?
Finally (and most interestingly), there is a chance that Mike Vrabel believes that Jamarco Jones can make the Tennessee Titans roster.
Vrabel has always been involved in free agency, and given the connections that the two have going back to Ohio State, it is almost a guarantee that the head coach was the driving factor in signing Jones.
It is a possibility that Vrabel just thinks that Jones was unlucky last year and that he can come in healthy and compete for a job at one of the guard positions. Then, like last year, if he doesn’t win he can provide depth behind the other starters at guard or tackle.