# Tebucky Jones

Tebucky Shermain Jones (born October 6, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). His professional career began when he was selected out of Syracuse University in the first round of the 1998 NFL draft by the New England Patriots who he won Super Bowl XXXVI with. He also played for the Miami Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints.

## Professional career

Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump |
| 6 ft 1+1⁄4 in (1.86 m) | 214 lb (97 kg) | 34+1⁄2 in (0.88 m) | 10 in (0.25 m) | 4.43 s | 1.54 s | 2.61 s | 3.94 s | 7.34 s | 38.5 in (0.98 m) |

### New England Patriots

Jones was selected 22nd overall by the New England Patriots in the 1998 NFL draft and signed a five-year deal.
Jones is best known for his role on the 2001 Patriots team that won Super Bowl XXXVI. In the Super Bowl, in the fourth quarter with the St. Louis Rams in a do-or-die situation down 3–17 against the Patriots, Rams quarterback Kurt Warner fumbled on 4th-and-3 next to the goal line, and Tebucky Jones picked up the fumble and raced down the length of the field for what would have been a 97-yard touchdown, but the return was negated by a holding penalty on Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest.
Jones played a total of 72 games for the Patriots, starting 36 while recording 224 total tackles, and 4 interceptions.

### New Orleans Saints

On April 14, 2003, Jones was traded to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a third-round pick, and a seventh-round pick in the 2003 NFL draft, and a fourth-round pick in the 2004 NFL draft. Jones played and started a total of 31 games for the Saints and recorded 172 total tackles, and 2 interceptions. Jones was released on March 15, 2005.

### Miami Dolphins

On March 16, 2005, Jones signed a two-year deal with the Miami Dolphins. He was placed on Injured Reserve on October 25, 2005. He played and started 6 games, and recorded 39 total tackles. He was released on March 2, 2006.

### New England Patriots (second stint)

On April 6, 2006, Jones signed with the New England Patriots. He was placed on Injured Reserve on September 2, 2006, with a leg injury. He was released on February 22, 2007.
Jones had a tryout with the Oakland Raiders on October 24, 2007, but his knee was so severely injured that the Raiders would not take him.

## NFL career statistics

Legend :
| | Won the Super Bowl |
| | Led the league |
| Bold | Career high |

### Regular season

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | FF | FR | Yds | TD |
| 1998 | NWE | 16 | 0 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | NWE | 11 | 2 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | NWE | 15 | 9 | 67 | 51 | 16 | 0.0 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | NWE | 16 | 12 | 72 | 53 | 19 | 1.0 | 1 | -4 | 0 | -4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | NWE | 14 | 13 | 55 | 41 | 14 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 1 |
| 2003 | NOR | 15 | 15 | 70 | 52 | 18 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | NOR | 16 | 16 | 102 | 79 | 23 | 0.0 | 1 | 55 | 0 | 55 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | MIA | 6 | 6 | 39 | 24 | 15 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | 109 | 73 | 435 | 327 | 108 | 4.5 | 6 | 73 | 0 | 55 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 1 |

### Playoffs

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | FF | FR | Yds | TD |
| 1998 | NWE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | NWE | 3 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0.0 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | 4 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0.0 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Personal life

Jones was the head coach of the New Britain Golden Hurricanes in New Britain, Connecticut until 2020.
On August 1, 2008, Jones was arrested at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. The incident involved Jones' friend being accused of making “inappropriate contact” with a woman in the lobby, and a fight broke out between Jones and the woman's boyfriend. The fight resulted in a broken jaw. The lawsuit was settled for $20,000
His son, Tebucky Jones Jr., played college football at the University of Connecticut and Fordham University and was briefly a member the Tennessee Titans before being cut during the preseason.