NFL needs to find a better way - like Festivus once did - for preseason football

Today we bring you news from the NFL exhibition season, otherwise known as the Festivus of football.

Festivus — the strange alternative holiday to Christmas devised in a classic episode of “Seinfeld” — inspired me to think of the waste I witnessed Saturday night in the Detroit Lions’ 16-6 exhibition win over the New York Jets at Ford Field. As I watched players rain blows upon each other, I thought there had to be another way.

Last week, the Lions lost Kerry Hyder and his eight sacks for the year to an Achilles injury. On Saturday, the Lions potentially lost receiver TJ Jones for a significant amount of time after he suffered a hamstring injury and left the game in the second quarter.

Jones isn’t a star player, and not even a starter. But he’s in his fourth year, which makes him and Golden Tate the longest-tenured receivers currently on the team. What makes Jones unique is that reporters like me have gotten to know him and watched his struggle to carve out his place in the NFL. In many ways, Jones embodies the spirit of anyone who does everything right but still lives on the periphery of the NFL dream.

Since he was drafted out of Notre Dame in the sixth round in 2014, Jones has played in just 13 games and caught 15 passes for 225 yards and one touchdown.

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But mostly Jones has been on the sidelines, either hurt or biding his time on the practice squad. He has been asked to move from his outside receiver to being an inside slot receiver and then suddenly supplanted last summer by the late signing of veteran Anquan Boldin.

“He’s resilient,” receiver Golden Tate said. “He’s had some challenges that have shown (up) and he keeps his head down and keeps grinding to stay on the field.”

Suddenly, Jones wasn’t on the field Saturday.

Jones started the game as the third receiver. But sometime in the second quarter, after he was examined by team doctors on the sidelines, Jones heard something he clearly didn’t want to hear. He stood by himself behind the bench, arms akimbo, not moving for nearly three minutes as he stared at the field and off into the distance, perhaps trying to keep sight of his NFL dream.

The most encouraging news was that coach Jim Caldwell stopped short of saying Jones’ injury was definitely significant.

“I’m not real sure,” he said. “I’ll just tell you that. I’m not real sure. We’ll see.”

Whether Jones’ injury costs him a few practices, a few games or maybe even more, he knows he can’t afford to miss much time. He’s on the bubble to make the Lions roster as a fourth receiver and can’t miss time. His job is on the line and he knows it.

Jones wasn’t in the locker room after the game, which generally isn’t a good sign. 

 “It’s really frustrating for anyone to get injured in preseason,” Tate said. “When I was younger in Seattle, I remember getting injured. I had a sprained meniscus and a high-ankle sprain like the third preseason game. It’s disappointing when you’re battling, trying to find your spot on the team. So I feel for those guys.

“I think a guy like TJ’s put a lot on film. So hopefully it’s minor, whatever it is. But he’s put a lot on film, so I’m pretty confident.”

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It’s a nice thought. But it’s probably unrealistic, like a Festivus miracle, that the Lions would make room for Jones on their 53-man roster if he has an injury that will sideline him for even a few games.

And this brings me back to my Festivus anger. So let me air my grievances and say that there needs to be a better way to evaluate players without putting them at risk so needlessly. Recently, Caldwell bristled when a reporter asked if he considered not using players in exhibitions in order to keep them from getting hurt.

Caldwell looked like he wanted to whip out the macho stick and beat the reporter with it. But the idea behind the question was legitimate. In essence, isn’t there a better way to evaluate players without putting at such a high risk in a game that serves no other purpose than to evaluate players. (Exhibition games also serves the purpose of selling tickets and putting money in owners’ pockets, but that’s a whole different column).

Here’s the last thing Tate said about Jones and his contributions to the team.

“He’s one of those guys who knows the entire offense,” Tate said. “He knows every position, out wide and slot. We know that he’s going to do his job correctly. When the ball’s thrown his way, he makes a play. He’s a big-time special-teams player in our return game. I can’t say enough good things about him.”

Neither can I. It’s too bad the NFL can’t find another way to protect players during its silly and meaningless annual ritual. And I’m not talking about Festivus.

Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@cmonarrez.

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