Benjamin Jones (born July 2, 1989) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He was drafted by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

in the fourth round of the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

High school career

A native of

Centreville, Alabama Centreville is a city in Bibb County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 2,800. The city is the county seat of Bibb County. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Centreville has a total area of , of which ...

, Jones attended

Bibb County High School Bibb County High School (BCHS) is a public high school in Centreville, Alabama Centreville is a city in Bibb County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 2,800. The city is the county seat of Bibb County. Geography ...

, where he was a two-way lineman and team captain. He paved the way for running back

Zac Stacy Zachary Latrell Stacy (born April 9, 1991) is a former American football running back and domestic abuser. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Vanderbilt. He also played ...

, who rushed for 1,666 yards and 24 touchdowns. Regarded as a three-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, Jones was listed as the No. 7 center prospect in his class. Despite living only an hour away from

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...

, Jones grew up a Georgia Bulldog fan.

College career

Jones became the Bulldog starting center three games into his freshman season (at No. 24

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

), after Chris Davis was moved to left guard. The centerpiece of a young offensive line, Jones helped protect quarterback

Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected f ...

, who threw for 3,459 yards (second most in school history) and 25 touchdowns (single-season record), while also clearing the way for running back

Knowshon Moreno Knowshon Rockwell Moreno (born July 16, 1987) is a former American football running back. He played college football at the University of Georgia and was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. He also pl ...

(1,400 rushing yards). As a senior in 2011, Jones was named an All-American by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Professional career

Jones was considered one of the top center prospects for the

. ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' ranked him second among center prospects, behind only

Peter Konz Peter Konz (born June 9, 1989) is a former American football Guard (American football), guard. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin Badgers football, Wisconsin. ...

Houston Texans

Jones was drafted in the fourth round by the

. He was one of only three centers selected, besides Konz and

David Molk David Michael Molk (born December 15, 1988) is a former American football center (American football), center. Molk previously played college football at the same position for University of Michigan, where he was a consensus All-American and won ...

. Jones was expected to back up Pro Bowl center

Chris Myers Chris Myers (born ) is an American sportscaster. He has covered the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals, the NCAA Final Four, The Masters, the U.S. Open, the Triple Crown, the Olympics, and the Daytona 500. Early life and career ...

while also seeing time at guard. Starting in Week 7 of the 2012 NFL season, against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

, Jones became the starting right guard for the Texans.

Tennessee Titans

On March 10, 2016, Jones signed a four-year contract with 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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

2016 season

In 2016, Jones started all 16 games for Titans as they finished with a 9-7 record, from a 3-13 record last season. He blocked for

Demarco Murray DeMarco Murray (born February 12, 1988) is an American football coach and former running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. A three-time Pro Bowl selection and one-time first-team All-Pro, he was the NFL Off ...

as he led the AFC in rushing yards.

2017 season

In 2017, Jones remained the starting center for the Titans, starting all 16 regular season games and finishing with another 9-7 record and qualifying for the playoffs. Jones started the AFC wildcard game against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

, blocking for

Derrick Henry Derrick Lamar Henry Jr. (born January 4, 1994) is an American football running back for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). His imposing rushing game and larger stature than the average running back earned him the nickna ...

as he ran for a then-career-high 157 yards in a 22-21 comeback win from a 22-3 deficit at halftime. He also started the divisional round game against the New England Patriots, which resulted in a 35-14 loss.

2018 season

In 2018, Jones started all 16 regular season games for the Titans, who finished with a third consecutive 9-7 record. He blocked for Derrick Henry as he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month in December, running for 585 yards in the final four games of the season, including running for a career-high 238 yards and four touchdowns in a 30-9 week 14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

2019 season

In 2019, Jones started 15 regular season games, missing the week 9 game against the Carolina Panthers with a concussion. The Titans finishing with a fourth consecutive 9-7 record, with Jones blocking for Derrick Henry as he won the NFL rushing yards title. The Titans qualified for the playoffs, making it to the AFC conference championships and losing to eventual Super Bowl Champions Kansas City Chiefs. Jones started all three playoff games, and blocked for Henry as he ran for nearly 200 yards in each of the first two games.

2020 season

Jones signed a two-year, $13.5 million contract extension with the Titans on August 30, 2019. He started all 16 games in the regular season and blocked for Henry as he won his second rushing yards title and was named

Offensive Player of the Year The National Football League Offensive Player of the Year Award is an annual American football award given by various organizations to the National Football League (NFL) player who is considered the top offensive player during the regular season. Or ...

by becoming the eighth player in NFL history to run for more than 2,000 yards in a season. The Titans won the AFC South with an 11-5 record. In the playoffs, Jones started for the Titans as they lost to the Baltimore Ravens in the wildcard round.

2022 season

On March 15, 2022, Jones signed a two-year, $14 million contract extension with the Titans. He was placed on injured reserve on December 22, 2022. In January 2023, Jones was named as a replacement player for

Creed Humphrey Creed Humphrey (born June 28, 1999) is an American football center for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma, where he was named the Big 12 Conference's offensive lineman of the ye ...

to the

2023 Pro Bowl The 2023 Pro Bowl Games will be the National Football League's all-star game for the 2022 NFL season. For the first time, the event will consist of skills competitions and a non-contact flag football game, rather than holding an actual tackle footb ...

, his first Pro Bowl. On March 10, 2023, Jones was released by the Titans.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ben 1989 births Living people People from Centreville, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama American football centers Georgia Bulldogs football players Houston Texans players Tennessee Titans players American Conference Pro Bowl players