Jermaine Jones has found a new home, and it’s within MLS.
In a massive move, the Colorado Rapids signed the U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder after trading general allocation money and a first-round pick in the 2017 MLS Draft to the New England Revolution. Jones will miss the first six games of the season due to a suspension stemming from last year, but will be cleared to play for the April 16 home game for the New York Red Bulls and beyond.
“Jermaine’s record for club and country speaks for itself,” Paul Bravo, Technical Director and VP of Soccer Operations, said in the club release. “He has the ability, versatility, experience and leadership skills to improve our young side. We are excited to have him join us in Colorado.”
The 34-year-old Jones, who will miss the U.S.’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers because of his suspension, had been in negotiations with the Revolution and MLS after seeing his 18-month contract expire at the end of last season. He was not pleased with the deals he was offered, however, and referred to one as a “joke.”
The Rapids have been linked to talented players this offseason, including Carlos Vela and Tim Howard, and the move for Jones comes just two days before the start of their new season. The club plays the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium on Sunday.
What do you think of the Rapids signing Jones? Think the Rapids will reach the playoffs with the addition of the 34-year-old midfielder?
Share your thoughts below.
trades? LMAO . This isn’t baseball. LOL LOL LOL MLS cracks me up
As a Revs fan, I can say they ARE the worst run team in the league. There is NO WAY they were ever going to give Jones the $$$ and years he was looking for. They have a long history of running the franchise on the cheap and not wanting to pay players their worth. That being said, they basically gave him away in this deal. Cash and a draft pick? They will never spend the cash so thats useless and draft picks are not worth anything in MLS other than a stream of roster fillers that mostly never develop. Most Revs fans are not happy with the decision not to resign or replace Jones but we have been let down so many times, its not even a surprise anymore
It’s actually pretty good business if you consider what advantages they got.
I suspect they think Jones is a blown player. It’d be easy to think that; the guy is 34 and has been missing a lot of time lately with nagging “age” type injuries, and with that six-game suspension, plus International duty, he’s guaranteed to miss a good bit more. Would they even be able to keep him healthy for half their games?
Probably not…so if you’ve got an NFL/salary-cap/gain-advantage mentality, the thing to do would be to cash him in. We don’t know how much allocation money they got, but that’s money they can spend that adds to the cap. I know the Revs have a rep for “cheapness” but they’re trying to nudge a lot of guys in under a very limited cap, and they also need room to manuever later based on needs and injury and however their season goes and dealing Jones gives them that ability to make a move as the season unfolds based on what needs and opportunities to acquire new players arise.
I still agree with the general sentiment, though: the current MLS salary cap is ridiculous. It’s bush league, it’s incredibly limiting…and it’s time and past time MLS got serious and decided it was going to spend.
Don’t say that too loudly, Nigel. “NE Revs” is still under the illusion his owner is aware he actually owns an MLS club.
They fell into almost all notable players they have due to the parity-enforced league structure. If not for the mechanics, they’d employ a full roster of NASL-quality players.
As a Revs fan, I can say the ARE the worst run team in the league. There is NO WAY they were ever going to give Jones the $$$ and years he was looking for. They have a long history of running the franchise on the cheap. That being said, they basically gave him away. Cash and a draft pick? They will never spend the cash so thats useless and draft picks are not worth anything in MLS other than a stream of roster fillers that mostly never develop. Most Revs fans are not happy with the decision not to resign or replace Jones but we have been let down so many times, its not even a surprise anymore
Thank you Jermaine for your services. We are glad you played for us instead of your native Germany. In the meantime I and a few I know continue to be disinterested in US Soccer until Klinsmann and Gulatti are sacked. Btw, great showing against Liga MX in Champions league. Keep it up US Soccer.
What does this have to do with the article, and US soccer has nothing to do with MLS failing to beat Mexican teams. If you have any complains about that, direct them at Don Garber
Nice post. Maybe consider changing your name to El Chillón.
With Jones suspended by the USSF as well, this should make for some interesting discussions for the March USMNT matches. Who gets partnered with Bradley? Williams, Morales, Nagbe, Lee…
Looking forward to seeing what the coaches decide.
I know that I am sounding like a broken record, but MLS has to get rid of the rule that a time can get compensation for a player that is NO LONGER under contract to them. This is just a little worse than the discovery rule used for ESTABLISHED pros.
Good deal for both parties
Snow-Fro fatheads are being printed as we speak…
Any Costa Ricans on the Rapids?…
Well. That sure worked out for him didn’t it?
I think it depends on the contract details. That being said, Denver is A LOT closer to LA. From the trips my friends used to take, it is only about a 2 hr flight.
At least Colorado doesn’t have Scoliosis.
http://sbisoccer.com/2016/01/report-rapids-attempting-to-acquire-tim-howard
Colorado is certainly not sitting idle this off-season. Unlike the club they traded the allocation spot with.
Not sitting idle, eh? What have they done exactly besides spreading some rumours?
Oh, Eric. New School strikes again.
NewSkool, good job making this trade happen, bravo to you sir! Cant believe you saw this coming months ago!
But on a serious note, love Jermain and glad he’s still in the league. Things just got a lot more interesting for Colorado and the West. Looking forward to this season.
“Spreading rumors“.
Keep eating crow, Eric. Your foresight could use some more protein apparently.