Jets' Jones misses 2nd day of offseason conditioning program

[RING4CHI]

Jets' Thomas Jones in no rush, misses 2nd day of offseason conditioning program; appears unhappy with contract

BY Rich Cimini
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Tuesday, March 17th 2009, 9:25 PM

Running back Thomas Jones missed a second straight day of Rex Ryan's inaugural offseason conditioning program, fueling speculation that the AFC rushing champ is unhappy with his contract.

Jones is entering the third year of a four-year, $20 million contract, which he signed at the time of his trade from the Bears, but his base salary for the coming season is only $900,000. Jones' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, approached the Jets about a renegotiation at last month's scouting combine in Indianapolis, according to a league source.

Rosenhaus didn't return calls for comment. Jets spokesman Bruce Speight refused to comment. Asked if there's a simple, non-contract-related reason for the absences, Speight once again declined to comment.

Technically, the offseason program is non-mandatory, but nearly every player usually makes it a point to attend, especially under a new coach.

If Jones is angling for a new contract, it could mushroom into a messy situation for the Jets, who would like to sign Leon Washington - Jones' backfield partner - to a long-term extension. Washington is entering the final year of his rookie contract; he attended the first day of the offseason program.

Ryan has a policy against renegotiating veteran contracts, according to former Jets wide receiver Laveranues Coles, who said that was the explanation given to him when he was rebuffed last month on a long-term extension. A year ago, under Eric Mangini, Coles threatened to sit out the offseason, prompting the team to modify his contract.

In other news, the Jets retained backup safety Abram Elam by matching the one-year, $1.5 million offer sheet he signed last week with the Browns, halting the exodus of free agents who have followed Mangini to Cleveland. The former Jets coach has signed four free agents from his old team - LB Eric Barton, CB Hank Poteat, LB David Bowens and DE C.J. Mosley.

In Elam's case, the Jets owned the right of first refusal because he was a restricted free agent. Making Mangini wait, they used the allotted seven days before announcing their decision. They would've received no compensation if they had opted not to match.

Elam, who replaced the injured Eric Smith, made several big plays last season, but he lost his starting job two weeks ago when the Jets signed former Ravens safety Jim Leonhard to a three-year, $5.9 million contract.

Thomas Jones appears unhappy with contract

[Boris13c]

so, everyone is going to be a whiner I guess

sorry, but millionaire whining bitch crybabies get no sympathy from me, and I wish them all flaming gonorrhea that causes their testicles to fall off before they choke to death on their own vomit

so, Jones? Cutler? any other whining stupid bitch?

[gaba]

Not that I give a sh*t what he does since he hasn't been a Bear for a couple years now but...

The Jet's got a deal. If they signed a Drew Rosenhaus guy with a reasonable contract and watched him perform well for two year then DIDN'T expect to be renegotiating, then they are retarded. They're just lucky they got two years out of him before he started crying for more money.