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 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

in the

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

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. 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

. 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

. 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