Former Jets RB Thomas Jones is returning to New Jersey this weekend as a member of the Chiefs, a good time to examine the controversial decision in March, 2010, to release Jones and sign LaDainian Tomlinson.
GM Mike Tannenbaum took a lot of heat for cutting Jones, who was coming off a 1,402-yard rushing season, but they felt he was worn down and wasn't worth the $5.8 million it would've cost to keep him. They responded immediately by signing Tomlinson to a two-year, $2.5 million contract.
In retrospect, it was a good football move, as the stats indicated. Tomlinson has brought a different dimension to the offense because of his receiving ability.
RUSHING, 2010-2011
Player --- No. -- Yds -- Avg -- TD
Jones ....... 352 ... 1,221 ... 3.5 ... 6
Tomlinson.. 266 ... 1,086 ... 4.1 ... 7
RECEIVING, 2010-2011
Players --- No. -- Yds -- Avg -- TD
Jones ........ 18 ... 138 ... 7.7 ... 0
Tomlinson .. 78 ... 696 ... 8.9 ... 1