Strange year for former Browns who wore #66. First the belated glory of Gene Hickerson’s election to the Hall of Fame, tempered by the news of his dementia. Then yesterday, we learned that former left tackle Tony Jones recently had a kidney transplant at age 40. His problems began while he was still a Brown, as detailed in this very interesting biofeature. You may recall that Jones briefly flirted with a return to Cleveland in 2001 after several seasons in Denver. His kidney condition was the major reason for his training camp retirement.
For the benefit of my young or forgetful readers, Jones was a raw, undrafted talent who eventually won Bill Belichick’s respect as one of the league’s best pass blockers. He started 96 straight games for the Browns, mostly at left tackle, and was a team captain by the time the franchise was uprooted. The Ravens’ first draft pick was his eventual replacement, Jonathan Ogden. Jones landed on his feet a year later, getting traded to Denver, where he won two Super Bowls.
“I do wonder if taking painkillers for 14 years had a lot to do with it. Other players need to know in the NFL, if you’re hurting, don’t run to the trainer for pills. It might be best to hurt. I took Percocet, codeine . . . and I never did get off them.”
