Bucs DE Howard Jones makes splash in first game
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Howard Jones celebrates after sacking Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles during the first quarter Sunday.JASON BEHNKEN / STAFF By Roy Cummings | Tribune Staff Published: October 14, 2015 at 05:51 PMTAMPA — A promotion from the practice squad to the active roster usually brings with it a sizeable raise in pay for an NFL player. That’s not how things worked out for Buccaneers defensive end Howard Jones, though.Not that Jones minds all that much. After all, the Bucs had already given the rookie a sizeable raise.On the day they signed him to the practice squad, the Bucs raised Jones’ pay from the $6,600 he made as a practice squad player with the Steelers last year to $25,500 per week.“That really made me feel good,’’ Jones said of the $435,000 rookie-level contract Tampa Bay gave him after Pittsburgh released him during final roster cuts. “It made me feel like they really wanted me here.’’Oh, the Bucs wanted him all right. They thought briefly last year about drafting Jones and followed him closely ever since thinking he might one day add a little juice to their pass rush. Of course, that is precisely what Jones has done.During his NFL debut last week, Jones recorded two sacks, including one on his first NFL snap, to aid the Bucs during their 38-31 victory over the Jaguars.“That was fun to watch,’’ Bucs coach Lovie Smith said.Smith admits he didn’t know much about Jones or even know him very well when Tampa Bay was pressed into adding him to the 53-man roster last week. The loss of fellow end T.J. Fatinikun to a season-ending knee injury forced that move, and it’s safe to say the Bucs weren’t sure if the Jones was ready for it.A product of Division II Shepherd University, Jones (6-foot-4, 238 pounds) spent more than a year working as a linebacker in the Steelers’ 3-4 scheme, and here the Bucs were asking him to play end in a 4-3 set up.After a little more than a month of work, though, Jones proved against the Jaguars his raw speed and athleticism might be all he needs, at least for now, to make an impact.“That was pretty impressive,’’ defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said of Jones’ debut. “He’s obviously adjusting well. And now we’re hoping we can get more of what we saw from him on Sunday.’’The Bucs have reason to think they can. Jones has the elite-level speed to be an impact pass rusher at the NFL level.“That was the No. 1 attraction for us,’’ Frazier said of Jones, who was clocked 4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the 2014 NFL scouting combine. “That and his long arms.’’What’s missing, besides experience, is proper technique. And it could be a while before Jones develops that.After all, not that long ago he was playing on the other side of the ball.Recruited out of high school as a wide receiver, Jones didn’t play linebacker until he got to college. Now, he’s playing with his hand in the dirt — in a three-point stance at the line of scrimmage — for the first time.“It’s pretty hard,’’ Jones said of the transition from linebacker to end. “But I’ve learned a lot from guys like (defensive tackle) Gerald McCoy and from our coaches.’’Jones is no stranger to difficult tasks. He wound up at Shepherd University because he didn’t have the grades to get into a Division I school. But he never let that destroy his dream of playing in the NFL.“I was always told that if you do well enough, if you work hard enough, somebody’s going to find you,’’ Jones said. “So it’s really not about where you are or where you come from. Yeah, coming from a small school, it’s a little bit harder to make it. But it can be done. It’s just a matter of hard work.“Hard work will get you there. And that’s what I’ve been doing all along, working hard.’’[email protected]Twitter: @RCummingsTBO
