Tebucky Shermain Jones (born October 6, 1974) is an American former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
safety
Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
for nine seasons in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). His professional career began when he was selected out of
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
in the first round of the
1998 NFL draft
The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...
by the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
who he won
Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
with. He also played for the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
and the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
.
Professional career
New England Patriots
Jones was selected 22nd overall by the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
in the
1998 NFL draft
The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...
and signed a five-year deal.
Jones is best known for his role on the 2001 Patriots team that won Super Bowl XXXVI. In the Super Bowl, in the fourth quarter with the St. Louis Rams in a do-or-die situation down 3–17 against the Patriots, Rams quarterback
Kurt Warner
Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, whi ...
fumbled on 4th-and-3 next to the
goal line, and Tebucky Jones picked up the fumble and raced down the length of the field for what would have been a 97-yard
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
, but the return was negated by a
holding penalty on Patriots linebacker
Willie McGinest
William Lee McGinest Jr. (born December 11, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college footbal ...
.
Jones played a total of 72 games for the Patriots, starting 36 while recording 224 total tackles, and 4 interceptions.
New Orleans Saints
On April 14, 2003, Jones was traded to the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
in exchange for a third-round pick, and a seventh-round pick in the
2003 NFL draft
The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...
, and a fourth-round pick in the
2004 NFL draft
The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held from April 24–25, 2004, at the Theate ...
. Jones played and started a total of 31 games for the Saints and recorded 172 total tackles, and 2 interceptions. Jones was released on March 15, 2005.
Miami Dolphins
On March 16, 2005, Jones signed a two-year deal with the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
. He was placed on Injured Reserve on October 25, 2005. He played and started 6 games, and recorded 39 total tackles. He was released on March 2, 2006.
New England Patriots (second stint)
On April 6, 2006, Jones signed with the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
. He was placed on Injured Reserve on September 2, 2006, with a leg injury. He was released on February 22, 2007.
Jones had a tryout with the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...
on October 24, 2007, but his knee was so severely injured that the Raiders would not take him.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
Personal life
Jones was the head coach of the New Britain Golden Hurricanes in
New Britain, Connecticut
New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol ...
until 2020.
On August 1, 2008, Jones was arrested at the
Mohegan Sun
Mohegan Sun is a large casino and entertainment complex located on 240 acres (97 ha) of the Mohegan Indian Reservation in Uncasville, Connecticut, along the banks of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is owned and operated by the fe ...
casino in
Uncasville, Connecticut
Uncasville is a village in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is located in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...
. The incident involved Jones' friend being accused of making “inappropriate contact” with a woman in the lobby, and a fight broke out between Jones and the woman's boyfriend. The fight resulted in a broken jaw. The lawsuit was settled for $20,000
His son, Tebucky Jones Jr., played college football at the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
and
Fordham University
Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...
and was briefly a member the
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...
before being cut during the preseason.
References
External links
*
buck34.com -- Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Tebucky
1974 births
Syracuse Orange football players
Miami Dolphins players
New England Patriots players
New Orleans Saints players
American football safeties
Living people
Players of American football from New Britain, Connecticut
21st-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century American sportsmen