Lions to Cut Former First Round Draft Pick Kevin Jones

Lions to Cut Former First Round Draft Pick Kevin Jones              Â

The Lions are preparing to part ways with one of their first round of picks (#30 overall) from the 2004 draft: Kevin Jones. Jones had just completed his fourth season out of Virginia Tech.Â

His best season by far was his rookie season when he ran for 1133 yards and five scores. In 2006, Jones had sustained a lisfranc injury that ended that season. The Lions now have concerns with his progress from an injury sustained during the 2007 season, and question, along with the large cap number that he has in 2008 (*$2.37 million), his durability.

There had been reports that Jones was ahead of schedule while recovering from that injury, but the Lions felt it was time to go in a different direction. Jones had undergone ACL surgery on his right knee to fix the injury in January.Â

The Lions will save *$2.37 million on the cap with cutting Jones and will turn their attention in the first round to selecting a running back. Sources within the Lions disagree with this number and actually think that the number is closer to $3 million dollars.
 

The Lions like Darren McFadden, the RB out of Arkansas, as well as Rashard Mendenhall from Illinois. Both will be brought into Allen Park for official visits before the draft.Sources within the Lions told me late last week that they didn’t think he would be ready for the start of the season.
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*Salary Cap info Courtesy of the The Net Rat