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Bucs acquire RB Thomas Jones from Cardinals
With their situation at running back suddenly in question, the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday acquired Thomas Jones from the Arizona Cardinals for wide receiver Marquise Walker.
The seventh overall pick in 2000 out of Virginia, Jones was a bust during his tenure with the Cardinals and lost his job as the starter last season to unproven Marcel Shipp.
Jones, 24, rushed for 511 yards and two touchdowns in nine games last season. He gained 1,264 yards and scored nine touchdowns while adding 73 catches for 472 yards in three seasons with the Cardinals.
"This is a trade that should be good for both parties," Bucs general manager Rich McKay said. "Thomas will have an opportunity to come in here and compete, and he certainly has traits to be a productive player for us."
The Buccaneers have former Cardinal Michael Pittman entrenched at running back but his playing status is up in the air after he was indicted in Arizona on charges that he used his Hummer to ram a car carrying his wife, 2-year-old son and a baby sitter.
Pittman will be arraigned June 19 on two counts of aggravated assault and could face jail time if he is convicted.
In his first season with the Bucs, Pittman rushed for 718 yards and a touchdown and added 59 catches for 477 yards. He enjoyed his game of the season in Super Bowl XXXVII, carrying 29 times for 124 yards in the Bucs' 48-21 rout of the Oakland Raiders.
A 2002 third-round pick out of Michigan, Walker was inactive for the Bucs' first four games last season before being placed on injured reserve on October 1.
In Arizona, Walker should be able to compete for playing time with the Cardinals revamping their receiving corps.
The seventh overall pick in 2000 out of Virginia, Jones was a bust during his tenure with the Cardinals and lost his job as the starter last season to unproven Marcel Shipp.
Jones, 24, rushed for 511 yards and two touchdowns in nine games last season. He gained 1,264 yards and scored nine touchdowns while adding 73 catches for 472 yards in three seasons with the Cardinals.
"This is a trade that should be good for both parties," Bucs general manager Rich McKay said. "Thomas will have an opportunity to come in here and compete, and he certainly has traits to be a productive player for us."
The Buccaneers have former Cardinal Michael Pittman entrenched at running back but his playing status is up in the air after he was indicted in Arizona on charges that he used his Hummer to ram a car carrying his wife, 2-year-old son and a baby sitter.
Pittman will be arraigned June 19 on two counts of aggravated assault and could face jail time if he is convicted.
In his first season with the Bucs, Pittman rushed for 718 yards and a touchdown and added 59 catches for 477 yards. He enjoyed his game of the season in Super Bowl XXXVII, carrying 29 times for 124 yards in the Bucs' 48-21 rout of the Oakland Raiders.
A 2002 third-round pick out of Michigan, Walker was inactive for the Bucs' first four games last season before being placed on injured reserve on October 1.
In Arizona, Walker should be able to compete for playing time with the Cardinals revamping their receiving corps.