Report: Baseball now in Chad Jones' future

[Mr. P]

Chad Jones, the safety whose promising career with the Giants was cut short by a horrific car accident just two months after he was drafted in 2010, has officially given up on a football comeback, according to a report.

 

Now he’ll try his hand at baseball instead.

 

The former third-round pick out of LSU had been working towards an NFL comeback for years, even after the Giants cut him in May, 2012. But according to a report from New Orleans TV station WDSU, baseball is now Jones’ future. He was once a high school star in that sport with a 91-miles per hour fastball. He was even drafted in the 13th round by the Houston Astros before he went to college.

 

Jones played baseball at LSU too, hitting .343 with a home run and six RBI in 18 games as a junior. He also pitched in nine games, allowing four hits and striking out seven in 6 2/3 innings while posting a 2.70 ERA. His finest moment on the mound came in the championship game of the College World Series in 2009, when he threw 1 2/3 perfect innings against Texas.

 

Jones – who was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 50^th round shortly after the Giants took him in the NFL draft -- said he always believed he could’ve made the majors as an outfielder or a pitcher. But in an interview shortly after the Giants drafted him, Jones said “When I weighed out my options, the No. 1 thing was what I love more, what I would love to do more in my life. I chose football. It wasn't that hard of a decision. I know I made the right one."

 

He might’ve been right if it weren’t for the horrible car accident early in the morning of June 25, 2010, when he lost he control of his Range Rover and crashed into a pole in downtown New Orleans. His injuries were so severe, doctors nearly decided to amputate his left leg. At that moment, his NFL career seemed over.

 

Jones tried to make a remarkable comeback, though, even running a 4.84 in the 40 yard dash on his 23rd birthday in October, 2011. The Giants stuck with him, but only until May, 2012, when they released him because, according to Dr. Scott Rodeo, a Giants associate team physician, he had “residual sensory loss, muscle weakness, and tenuous soft tissue coverage in the involved lower leg (and) the resultant functional impairment precludes his ability to perform physically at the level required for professional football.”

 

Jones worked out for the Philadelphia Eagles in December and for the New Orleans Saints in January, but neither team was willing to sign him to a deal.

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/giants/2013/05/report-baseball-now-in-chad-jones-future

[BleedinBlue]

I wish him all the luck in the world.

[NYG Hampton 27]

I wish him all the luck in the world.

Same here BB.

[upstatefan]

Wish Him the best .

[TrashTalker92]

When he plays for a MLB team. I'll be cheering him on!!!! Can't wait.

[gmenroc]

He's a guy that I think every fan, regardless of team, can root for to some degree. It's like he had the opportunity of a lifetime right there in front of him, only to be ripped away by life. It's a shame the Giants never got to take advantage of the promise he had shown and a shame for Jones, to never get that opportunity to show his ability on Sundays.

 

Wish him the best.