Jones to switch sides of the ball
Edgar Jones played tight end and defensive end back in his high school days at Rayville High in Louisiana, but since then he had stuck to the defensive side of the ball.
Until now that is.
Coach John Harbaugh announced today that Jones will be picking up a copy of Cam Cameron's offensive playbook and switching from linebacker to tight end.
The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Jones saw some action at tight end earlier this offseason, and the coaches liked what they saw enough to continue the experiment.
"We want to give him a week or two in there and see how he does. He's played well at linebacker. He knows the linebacker position. We feel like we can move him back there at any time, and he'll be just fine for us. ... But we want to see if he can help us at tight end."
"Coach Harbaugh came to me and asked me about it and I told him [I would do] whatever it took to help the team," Jones said of the move. "It's exciting, man, it's a blessing. Just being in the NFL in itself, but going from defense to offense is exciting. It's a challenge and I'm willing to step up to the plate and accept it."
Jones is wearing No. 46, which allows him to retain eligibility at both positions. Harbaugh said that along with his new role as a tight end, Jones could fill in as an emergency linebacker and see lots of time on special teams as well.
Has Jones planned out an end zone dance yet?
"Not really," Jones said, cracking a smile. "Just focused on the playbook."
Stan-
Coach Harbaugh said today that the coaches like the way Jones comes off the ball on defense, that he is able to push a tight end around a bit, so they want to flip the script and see how he does on the other side of the ball.
I think this "experiment" has more to do with the lack of depth at the tight end position than it does anything else. Todd Heap and Daniel Wilcox are both recovering from injuries, and if one or both of them goes down in the regular season, the Ravens could be in trouble at tight end. Adam Bergen looked OK in training camp, but Harbaugh would like to have more options in case someone goes down.
As for him playing both sides of the ball in the same game, it's possible, but I wouldn't hold my breath. A much more likely scenario, though, is Jones seeing time on both offense and special teams on the same Sunday.
-Dan
What have the coaches seen in Jones that prompted them to try this experiment? Is it possible he would play on both sides of the ball in the same game? Is he being considered for his blocking ability or for receiving?