Green Bay Packers: Datone Jones doing himself no favors

By Keegan Matheson | Jul 3, 2015

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Datone Jones was suspended by the league on Thursday for one game after violating the substance abuse policy, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN. Despite hushed optimism surrounding the physically gifted Jones, this represents another step backwards for the 26th overall selection in the 2013 NFL Draft.

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As Demovsky points out, the suspension could link to either a positive test or missed test, as both can result in equal punishment. The timing is made even more unfortunate by the maturation that Jones claims to have undergone over the offseason.

“I learned so many new things,” Jones tells Demovsky. “I had to mature a lot. That was one thing. I had to really dial in and really mature a lot and really put my focus all into football. A lot. I had to really focus. That was the biggest thing with my growth to make that next jump. A lot of times it’s not all about the numbers. ‘This guy had 15 sacks.’ No, it’s not that. You have to dial in mentally and actually learn the game.”

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In 2013, Jones represented the Green Bay Packers beginning to make an organizational shift from the fire-hydrant defensive linemen types of Ryan Pickett or Johnny Jolly towards longer, more athletic specimens. This ideology was prevalent in the signing of Julius Peppers.

The early results have been disappointing, with Jones recording just 5.0 sacks through 29 regular season games in his first two seasons. His 2014 campaign was hampered by an ankle injury that cost him three games, but even at his healthiest, Datone Jones was unable to convince defensive coordinator Dom Capers that he was a must-play in base packages.

According to Football Outsiders, Jones played just 28.7% o f the team’s overall defensive snaps, ranking him behind Letroy Guion, Mike Daniels and Josh Boyd. The return of a healthy B.J. Raji in 2015 is likely to produce a base set of Daniels, Raji and Guion, leaving Jones to once again fight for pass rushing opportunities in select packages.

Dec 21, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Green Bay Packers defensive end Datone Jones (95) runs with the ball after he intercepted the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Green Bay Packers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-3. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Mike McCarthy and the Green Bay Packers can, quite frankly, get along just fine without Datone Jones for their season opener against the Chicago Bears. This situation will become much more difficult, however, if Letroy Guion is issued a suspension of his own following an offseason arrest in Florida. That would leave the Packers without two of their top four linemen facing a fresh Matt Forte.

Ted Thompson and the Packers front office have been hesitant to take on players with red flags, but once a player is in the family, the organization has historically worked to help the player as opposed to distancing themselves from them. Such was the case with Guion, re-signing this offseason despite his troubles, and Johnny Jolly, who the Packers welcomed back onto the roster after he was released from jail for narcotics charges.

Packers fans are getting anxious to break out the “bust” card, but I always like to give a pass-rusher their third season before making too swift of a judgement. Physically, there is nothing that can hold Datone Jones back on a football field. It’s off the field that we have to worry about.

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