Speaker 1: Welcome to the Official Jets Podcast. We're presented by wind
Speaker 1: bat Betting is a team sport bet together at win
Speaker 1: back Eric Allen here inside the studio. I am so
Speaker 1: pumped today because we finally have Thomas Jones on the
Speaker 1: official pod. T J. How are you doing? I'm doing great, man,
Speaker 1: Thanks for having me. Hey, you know what I was
Speaker 1: thinking about that we're coming up on almost sixteen years
Speaker 1: since the Jets acquired you in a trade from the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears back in two thousand and seven. What was
Speaker 1: that moment like for you? Sixteen years? Man? Why do
Speaker 1: you have to say that mass six? Hey, listen, you're
Speaker 1: still that's crazy man, you know, I mean, my time
Speaker 1: in the Jets was so great and you know with
Speaker 1: the jetson and York, um that it feels like it
Speaker 1: was yesterday. So to to actually hear sixteen years, it's surreal. Um,
Speaker 1: how do you find out about the deal? So? I was,
Speaker 1: you know, I was obviously I was in Chicago and
Speaker 1: and we had just uh played in the Super Bowl,
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, I was having some issues with
Speaker 1: with with the management in regards to just you know,
Speaker 1: renewing my contract, give me a new contract. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: whether or not they were going to trade me or not. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, just business stuff. And I just so happened
Speaker 1: to be in New York with my publicist. Uh. There
Speaker 1: was a a fashion show at that time that bt
Speaker 1: UH produced called Ripped the Runway, and so they had
Speaker 1: reached out to my publicist because they wanted me to
Speaker 1: to actually be a part of the fashion show, and
Speaker 1: um and model some of the some of the clothes,
Speaker 1: the clothes, and so I was in New York for
Speaker 1: the fashion show, and UM, I knew that we were
Speaker 1: in conversation with several teams for potential trade, but I
Speaker 1: was I was headed to the rehearsal for the Rip
Speaker 1: the Runaway fashion show and my phone rang and it
Speaker 1: was my agent, Drew Rosenhouse. And the first thing he
Speaker 1: says is, Hey, where are you. I said, Oh, I'm
Speaker 1: in New York and he goes, are you serious. I'm
Speaker 1: like yeah, I'm like, I'm in New York. I'm headed
Speaker 1: to a rehearsal for a fashion show. He goes, You're
Speaker 1: not gonna believe this. Uh, the Jets want to trade
Speaker 1: for you. And I was like, what, you know? It
Speaker 1: was just because I was assuming that we were going
Speaker 1: to get something done in Chicago. We just I just
Speaker 1: played in the Super Bowl. You know, we had a
Speaker 1: great team. You know, we had great nucleus. I figured, okay,
Speaker 1: they'll bring me back, um. And he said they wanted
Speaker 1: to trade for me. And I said, okay, well that's great.
Speaker 1: I guess you know, I don't know all the details,
Speaker 1: but um, you know, yeah, tell me more. So he goes, well,
Speaker 1: the fact that you're in New York is great because
Speaker 1: they were gonna fly you into New York immediately, like today,
Speaker 1: but you're already there. How far away are you from
Speaker 1: Long Island? Um? And I was like, well, I'm in
Speaker 1: Manhattani in the city. He was like, okay, well, how
Speaker 1: soon can you get to Long Island to the jet facility?
Speaker 1: And I was, you know, I didn't know, but I
Speaker 1: asked the driver and he said we can get there
Speaker 1: is traffic and maybe an hour of traffic. And say, okay.
Speaker 1: So me and my publicists we found out that the
Speaker 1: Jets want to trade for me in a in the
Speaker 1: suv headed to rehearsal for a fashion show in New York.
Speaker 1: So it's crazy amazing. Listen, you have you had so
Speaker 1: many intrasts off the field, and we're gonna get to
Speaker 1: what you're doing now. But did your head starts spending
Speaker 1: at that time, like, Hey, this is gonna be a
Speaker 1: cool opportunity to play with the Jets, but maybe I
Speaker 1: can get into some things off the field and maybe
Speaker 1: those experiences are gonna me post career. Yeah, definitely. I mean,
Speaker 1: Chicago is a great city. There's a lot of opportunities
Speaker 1: in Chicago outside of football. Um, you know, the New
Speaker 1: York is It's New York. You know, it's it's it's
Speaker 1: uh the mecca. You know, of of of opportunities, you know,
Speaker 1: and so um, at the time, I was really focused on, Okay,
Speaker 1: what is my football career gonna look like? Um, you
Speaker 1: know if I'm traded here. Um. But also I love
Speaker 1: New York City. I went to college with a lot
Speaker 1: of guys out of from New York that I became
Speaker 1: really good friends with. I spent a lot of time
Speaker 1: in New York. Um throughout my NFL career, even up
Speaker 1: to that point, and so, um, I was excited about
Speaker 1: the opportunity to play in New York City. Um. But
Speaker 1: you know, being into fashion and being into other things
Speaker 1: that I that I was interested in outside of football.
Speaker 1: I mean, that would have been the perfect place for
Speaker 1: me to be traded to from Chicago. But did you
Speaker 1: get in UM introduced anybody in the film world in
Speaker 1: New York at that time? Well, I played for the
Speaker 1: Cardinals for three years, and so I was very close
Speaker 1: to Los Angeles, forty five minute flight away. Uh, And
Speaker 1: so I spent a lot of time in l A.
Speaker 1: Because honestly, you know, I wasn't really a big fan
Speaker 1: of Phoenix. Uh. I was coming from Virginia, coming from
Speaker 1: the East Coast, So I was I was a culturally
Speaker 1: Uh I was. I was a little more comfortable being
Speaker 1: on the East Coast. Um. Phoenix was a great city,
Speaker 1: beautiful city. But at that time, you know, I was
Speaker 1: young one, you know, fresh ayed of college. You know,
Speaker 1: I was used to a certain type of energy, East
Speaker 1: Coast energy. So it was like a culture shock for
Speaker 1: me when I when I was drafted by the Cardinals.
Speaker 1: So I spent a little more time in l A
Speaker 1: because it was a little more lively, a little faster pace.
Speaker 1: So I've met a lot of people in the industry
Speaker 1: music and film while I was in Los Angeles. I
Speaker 1: had a lot of relationships UM. From that that my
Speaker 1: time in Arizona. So, um, New York in l A
Speaker 1: are the two biggest you know, uh places for entertainment,
Speaker 1: and so we kind of go hand in hand. So um, yeah,
Speaker 1: I met a lot of people in l A that
Speaker 1: we're working in New York and you know, by coastal back,
Speaker 1: back and forth. So I had a lot of relationships
Speaker 1: in New York and the entertainment industry at that time too.
Speaker 1: How would you describe those three years? Oh seven and
Speaker 1: Jets fans will relate to this right now. Quarterback instability
Speaker 1: for you and oh seven, tough year. Then you produced
Speaker 1: on the ground. Oh hey, Brett Farve comes in and
Speaker 1: the team. I remember over time victory in New England.
Speaker 1: The following week you went to Tennessee, undefeated Titans team
Speaker 1: and you put put a thumping on them. Eight and three.
Speaker 1: Look like a super Bowl favorite. But then it fell
Speaker 1: apart down the stretch. Uh. Let's talk about those first
Speaker 1: two years first, as you got your feet on the
Speaker 1: ground here, Yeah, I mean the first year was was
Speaker 1: growing pains. You know, it's part of building a team,
Speaker 1: you know. Um, I think the year before that they
Speaker 1: had gone to the playoffs in two thousand six, the
Speaker 1: Jets went to the playoffs, and we actually played the
Speaker 1: Jets that year in those six in New York. We
Speaker 1: beat but I think we want like ten to three
Speaker 1: year or something like that. You ran for over a
Speaker 1: hundred yards in that game. I think, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1: We actually played back to back games. We played the
Speaker 1: Giants and then we flew back to New York and
Speaker 1: played the Jets and back to back weeks. Um. So
Speaker 1: you know, they had a really good season that year.
Speaker 1: You know, they made it to the playoffs and so
Speaker 1: they had a good nucleus. I think. You know in seven, um,
Speaker 1: Chad Pennington ended up being injured and um, and we
Speaker 1: had a lot of young players that had to come
Speaker 1: in and make plays. And on offense and defense, I know, UM,
Speaker 1: the offensive line was young. You know, we kind of
Speaker 1: had like a musical chairs going on with the offensive line.
Speaker 1: So I don't think we had too much stability there. Um.
Speaker 1: And also on offense, UM, you know, we actually cut
Speaker 1: all of the fullbacks and so um we were using
Speaker 1: the tight ends uh to run ice so and certain
Speaker 1: plays that traditionally a fullback would be in. So UM,
Speaker 1: there was some growing pains there. I think I had
Speaker 1: one rushing touchdown and was one shovel pass touchdown. Uh,
Speaker 1: but I had over eleven hundred yards and over three
Speaker 1: hundred carries. So I took a beating that year. But
Speaker 1: you know, as part of the running back position, and
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, you get the ball, you
Speaker 1: know you're gonna get hit. Hopefully you can wear defenses
Speaker 1: down and in the second half, you know that's um,
Speaker 1: they're tired of hitting you. And and you know, some
Speaker 1: creases open. Um. So it was a tough year for me,
Speaker 1: coming off of a Super Bowl year in the last
Speaker 1: two seasons where I was in the playoffs to being
Speaker 1: four and twelve and and not really having a lot
Speaker 1: of production. But I knew if I had some help
Speaker 1: coming in the next year, which was a way, then
Speaker 1: I could get back to my old Chicago self. And
Speaker 1: that's what happened in olate Farve came in, Um, you know,
Speaker 1: gave us an opportunity to throw the ball down and field,
Speaker 1: which stretched the defense. Now it's not eight nine in
Speaker 1: the box every week. Brought in some incredible offensive lineman
Speaker 1: Damian Woody. Allen Fannica brought in one of the best,
Speaker 1: arguably the best fullback in the history the NFL. Tony Richardson, Um,
Speaker 1: I mean he's known for leading running backs to the
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl thousands of our seasons. Um. And then you know,
Speaker 1: we we just came together at the right time, you know,
Speaker 1: in that in that o a season. So uh yeah,
Speaker 1: draftly different seasons, but also draftly different teams and drastically
Speaker 1: different experiences for sure. Oh nine. Was that magical from
Speaker 1: your perspective? I mean what the team did you? Yourself?
Speaker 1: I think four hundred yards, fourteen touchdowns on the ground,
Speaker 1: and you were the definition of a workhorse man that
Speaker 1: that was. That's a running back to dream that year
Speaker 1: to have a great defense that's gonna get you the
Speaker 1: ball back and uh, you know, have a great offensive line,
Speaker 1: green fullback. Um. Even though you have a young quarterback,
Speaker 1: uh you know who's learning on the go. UM. You know,
Speaker 1: that still puts a lot of the owners on us
Speaker 1: the running back to to produce. And so any running
Speaker 1: back worth the granted salt once that situation, Uh, they
Speaker 1: want to be in that position where they're getting carries
Speaker 1: a game. UM. That's that's why you're in the NFL.
Speaker 1: You're in the NFL to get the ball to produce. UM.
Speaker 1: And so that year was probably the most fun I've
Speaker 1: ever had. And also I think it was I was
Speaker 1: thirty one, I think thirty one, So I felt like
Speaker 1: I had finally earned the right, uh to be the guy,
Speaker 1: because every year up until that point, it felt like
Speaker 1: there was always someone they were trying to replace me
Speaker 1: with or figuring out how we can supplement him, as
Speaker 1: opposed to saying, hey, this is the guy. So I
Speaker 1: think that season was the first year I felt, hey,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna be able to get more the majority of
Speaker 1: the carries, um, and I have fully the way of
Speaker 1: the offense on my shoulders. You were here three years
Speaker 1: twice your teammates voted to you most inspirational. What does
Speaker 1: that mean to you personally that you had that kind
Speaker 1: of respect from the guys in the room, your peers.
Speaker 1: It means everything, you know. I mean, you're with these
Speaker 1: guys every day. You're in the locker room, you're uh,
Speaker 1: you know, you're in training room. Um, you know, you're
Speaker 1: in the practice field. You know we're traveling together. Um,
Speaker 1: you know we're having pregame meal together. Uh, and we're
Speaker 1: going to battle on the field. And so um, out
Speaker 1: of all the guys on the team. For the guys
Speaker 1: to vote you as the most inspirational player or person
Speaker 1: on the team, that's the biggest accolade that you could receive. Obviously,
Speaker 1: the nfls about wins and losses and championships, but internally, UM,
Speaker 1: what is the infrastructure of the team, what does the
Speaker 1: leadership look like? UM? What does the accountability look like? Uh?
Speaker 1: And I was always big on accountability and being a
Speaker 1: leader and leading by example. So to be voted most
Speaker 1: inspirational by my teammates, uh, it let me know that
Speaker 1: every day that I spent watching extra film every day,
Speaker 1: that I uh stayed in the weight room every day,
Speaker 1: that I uh was the last one to leave the facility. UM,
Speaker 1: every day that I was hard on a player because
Speaker 1: I wanted him to be the best that he possibly
Speaker 1: could be. And also, UM, I wanted to win. UM.
Speaker 1: And let me know that they appreciated that, and that
Speaker 1: meant everything to me. So it doesn't get any better
Speaker 1: than that. How much did you appreciate the people in
Speaker 1: the building, Because what always struck me about you was
Speaker 1: your relationship with the equipment guys. That's not something that
Speaker 1: people on the outside sea, but during open locker room
Speaker 1: periods the media would be down there three four times
Speaker 1: a week for forty five minutes sessions and stuff like that,
Speaker 1: and you were always with the guys. One of my buddies,
Speaker 1: Brendan Burger, was always around your locker. Yeah. I love
Speaker 1: those guys, man. I mean, but I've always been infatuated
Speaker 1: with just the game of football, um, the exits and
Speaker 1: ose um, the history of the game, but also the
Speaker 1: equipment and the cleats and the shoulder pads. And I've
Speaker 1: always you know, from a little kid I was. I
Speaker 1: was always intrigued by uh, the equipment and so um.
Speaker 1: In high school, college and in every NFL team I
Speaker 1: was on. I was always spending a lot of time
Speaker 1: with the with the guys in the equipment room, building
Speaker 1: relationships with those guys. And I also appreciate the fact
Speaker 1: that they're the ones that are taking care of us.
Speaker 1: You know, they're the ones that are making sure our
Speaker 1: helmets have Aurian them. They're they're making sure that we
Speaker 1: have the right shoulder pads that fit um. I mean,
Speaker 1: they care a lot about us enough there too. You know,
Speaker 1: they're watching our our socks and you know our um
Speaker 1: you know, shirts and thermals and and workout gear. I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, that's a very humble, humbling job, and I'm
Speaker 1: a very humble person. My mom and dad worked in
Speaker 1: the coal mins for nineteen years. So I think I
Speaker 1: always gravitate towards people who, um, you know, have jobs
Speaker 1: where they're um, they can easily be overlooked and easily
Speaker 1: be under underappreciated. I gravitate towards those people. Uh. And
Speaker 1: plus they're just good guys. Man. We had some great conversations. Man.
Speaker 1: You know, I would get my lunch and a lot
Speaker 1: of times, UM, I wouldn't say I was dodging the media,
Speaker 1: but UM, I learned over my first three years in
Speaker 1: the NFL that sometimes you know, um, if you focus
Speaker 1: too much on the media and and they're going to
Speaker 1: ask their questions, they have a job to do. Um.
Speaker 1: Sometimes you know, you have to you have to find
Speaker 1: that balance between being able to give interviews and and
Speaker 1: hear the chatter and then avoid the chatter, and so
Speaker 1: they equip The room was a good place for me
Speaker 1: to duck off with my food and and just sit
Speaker 1: back in there and just talk and laugh and joke, um,
Speaker 1: and build great relationships with those guys that I have
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Speaker 1: New York, Tennessee, and Virginia. You had a crazy work
Speaker 1: ethic you still do. With that being said, can you
Speaker 1: talk about the connection you had specifically with this fan base.
Speaker 1: It feels like you played longer considering what you accomplished
Speaker 1: here in New York, just the three seasons, But can
Speaker 1: you talk about their attitude, their mentality, their expectations, and
Speaker 1: how you fit into that. Yeah, I'm from Virginia, but
Speaker 1: I've always been uh connected to New York, regardless of
Speaker 1: whether whether it's fashion, music, the energy. UM, I've always
Speaker 1: I've always felt like I was um had a had
Speaker 1: a piece of New York in me. Uh. So you
Speaker 1: know the New York fan base, man, I mean that's
Speaker 1: the passionate uh. You know, they they're they're little rowdy
Speaker 1: at times, would need be UM, but you know they
Speaker 1: they're there. They genuinely want to win, and they genuinely
Speaker 1: want to be successful. And so I think you know,
Speaker 1: me being able to come to New York, uh and
Speaker 1: and be able to to play running back, you know
Speaker 1: running back there UM that position obviously since Churtis Martin.
Speaker 1: I mean it's one of the greatest of all timomy
Speaker 1: and it's big shoes to feel um. But New York
Speaker 1: is where I was supposed to go. The energy is
Speaker 1: that's what I needed. I needed that, um, not to
Speaker 1: motivate me anymore than I motivate myself. But it's nothing
Speaker 1: like going out coming out of the tunnel in the
Speaker 1: Meadowlands and the New York Jets fans are sat j
Speaker 1: dts just just Jets and it's all Green. Um, just
Speaker 1: the mostique of the stadium, the mistique of the team. Um. Yeah, man,
Speaker 1: I mean it was a match made in heaven. You
Speaker 1: know what I mean? The New York Jets fan base.
Speaker 1: DONAFL is a business. And you talked about the trade
Speaker 1: between the Bears and the Jets. How difficult wasn't for you?
Speaker 1: The couple of months after all nine, you guys advanced
Speaker 1: ANFC championship game. I got a seventeen sixteen, seventeen to
Speaker 1: six lead over Peyton Mann and the Colts in their building.
Speaker 1: Uh me. You were such a big part of that
Speaker 1: team and what was building. And then the organization goes
Speaker 1: out and drafts Shawn Green and then before you know it,
Speaker 1: you signed a free agency with the Kansas City Chiefs
Speaker 1: and you embark got a new start again. Yeah. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's that's the NFL. And you know, Sean Green was
Speaker 1: a great back, great friend. Um. I loved to share
Speaker 1: in the backfield with him. We had some great games.
Speaker 1: We dominated some teams, embarrassed some teams. Uh. You know,
Speaker 1: I remember the Raiders. We played the Raiders out there
Speaker 1: in in Oakland and oh nine, and we both had
Speaker 1: over a hundred yards. I think I had like a
Speaker 1: buck twenty. He had like a buck forty. I mean
Speaker 1: the same game, you know. I mean that's pretty hard
Speaker 1: to do in the NFL against any NFL defensive. We
Speaker 1: dominated teams Sean and I and Leon Washington, you know
Speaker 1: before he was injured that year. Um. But that's the
Speaker 1: business of the NFL. And I was already prepared for
Speaker 1: that because of my experiences in Arizona and in Tampa,
Speaker 1: even Chicago, so um. A lot of times. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: guys are emotional about the NFL business, but I never
Speaker 1: took it personal because I understood that this business. First,
Speaker 1: I enjoyed my my my time with every which which um,
Speaker 1: which with which whichever team I'm on, um, And those
Speaker 1: are memories that I have, and then I take the
Speaker 1: experiences and I go to the next team. Do you
Speaker 1: have a favorite moment that you had here? Uh, the
Speaker 1: New England game Foxboro two thousand, Yeah, that was big man.
Speaker 1: I remember, um, you know, the Jets, because I mean
Speaker 1: I've been I played in five six different conferences and
Speaker 1: so my roo key year. My first two years in
Speaker 1: the NFL, the years on Carton's Well, we were in
Speaker 1: the NFC East, and then two thousand two, I think
Speaker 1: is when they they switched up the divisions in them,
Speaker 1: we were in the NFC West. And so then on
Speaker 1: Tradie Tampa Bay we were in the NFC South, and
Speaker 1: I went to Chicago we were in the NFC North.
Speaker 1: And then I went to the Jets. We're in the
Speaker 1: NFC East, and then I go to Kansas City when
Speaker 1: the NFC West. So there's different rivalries and different divisions
Speaker 1: that you kind of have to get used to. And
Speaker 1: so m after my first game in New York, Uh,
Speaker 1: what is the spive Gates five? A game against the Patriots,
Speaker 1: my first my first game as a Jet. UM. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I developed this like hatred for the for the Patriots UM.
Speaker 1: And I think then playing at Foxboro, knowing how big
Speaker 1: that game was, knowing what was on the line, the
Speaker 1: divisional league, UM, and being able to win in the
Speaker 1: fashion we did in overtime. I'll never forget that moment.
Speaker 1: I remember sitting in my locker after the game and
Speaker 1: I was just emotionally and physically drained. I think I
Speaker 1: had over a hundred yards about thirty carries UM and
Speaker 1: I was just in my locker and I was just
Speaker 1: in tears, like I just couldn't like even moved, Like
Speaker 1: I remember Jericho Contry and uh and Shoddy came over
Speaker 1: to my locker and I was just like bawling, like
Speaker 1: I was just letting everything go because I gave I
Speaker 1: had nothing left. And so that moment, to me was
Speaker 1: was a very very important moment for me in my
Speaker 1: career and definitely the biggest moment for me um personally
Speaker 1: as a jet That's awesome. We're taping this on Wednesday morning.
Speaker 1: Tom Brady made his retirement official a couple of hours ago.
Speaker 1: What were your thoughts when you heard that? Um, I
Speaker 1: wasn't surprised. It's hard to let the game go, man,
Speaker 1: especially when you play as long as as he played,
Speaker 1: as long as I played twelve years. I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: you've given the majority of your adult life to this game,
Speaker 1: to this sport, to this job, to the fans, to
Speaker 1: the public, um, and transitioning is difficult. Um. You you
Speaker 1: play this game as a kid, and then you going
Speaker 1: to play the game as a man and trying to
Speaker 1: figure out what you love as much or what you're
Speaker 1: just as passionate about it's hard, and I understand how
Speaker 1: he can retire in and you know when I come back,
Speaker 1: I can. I can fully understand that because at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, you know, this is who he is,
Speaker 1: this is his identity. So, um, I had Tom came
Speaker 1: out the same year with me. You know, we came
Speaker 1: out in two thousand draft and he's had an incredible
Speaker 1: career argue with the greatest quarterback of world time. UM,
Speaker 1: so you know I was honored to play against him,
Speaker 1: and UM, you know I wish you the best post football.
Speaker 1: This is a great transition because you made a change
Speaker 1: yourself post career. Yeah, like you were known in your
Speaker 1: playing days as Thomas Jones, now you are Thomas Q. Jones.
Speaker 1: Can you talk about having another I don't want to
Speaker 1: say personality, but but persona reinventing yourself as you would say. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was difficult. It was difficult. Once I retired in
Speaker 1: two thousand twelve, it was like, what am I going
Speaker 1: to do now? Um, even though I was interested in
Speaker 1: so many other things outside of football, I still had
Speaker 1: to find something that I was organically passionate about, and
Speaker 1: I just so happened to fall into acting was not
Speaker 1: something that I just just dreaming of tin or that
Speaker 1: I even anticipated doing. It was just something that I
Speaker 1: fell into, um and it helped me in so many ways.
Speaker 1: It helped me change my uh my mindset as this
Speaker 1: kind of O. C. D. Aggressive Island football player that
Speaker 1: um sometimes didn't know how to turn that off even
Speaker 1: when I wasn't on the field. UM two, a more
Speaker 1: open minded, um, more patient, uh, more understanding person that
Speaker 1: can you know, contribute to society outside of the NFL
Speaker 1: locker room. Uh. You know. It also helped me in
Speaker 1: regards to just some of the things as football players
Speaker 1: that we don't think about it. We don't um um
Speaker 1: dwell on um personal traumas things of that nature. Um,
Speaker 1: you can't. That's not something that you think about as
Speaker 1: a football player. Vulnerability and weakness, that's not something you
Speaker 1: can think about as a football player. You don't get
Speaker 1: you beat. But as an actor, those are those are
Speaker 1: the most powerful tools, is vulnerability and weakness. So, yeah,
Speaker 1: it was a difficult transition, but I was very very
Speaker 1: fortunate to find acting. Yeah, you were very honest about
Speaker 1: that and forth right. You said there was a time
Speaker 1: there that you didn't know what to do with your
Speaker 1: time when your career immediately ended. He said, Hey, listen,
Speaker 1: I was a guy socially drink, but you found yourself
Speaker 1: drinking and somewhat depressed right immediately after. And then you
Speaker 1: found that passion and like the Thomas Jones we all
Speaker 1: know and love, you jump when you go into something.
Speaker 1: There's nothing halfway about you. So so the other day
Speaker 1: you're texting me. I looked at the time stamp. It's
Speaker 1: two forty three in the morning. So can you talk
Speaker 1: about your life now between Miami and Los Angeles and
Speaker 1: what you got go on acting? Producing? Also, you were
Speaker 1: involved and you still might be some application development. I
Speaker 1: don't know how you're doing it all, but can you
Speaker 1: talk about some of the projects that you're currently working. Well, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I Kim Man. I'm a busy buy I have to
Speaker 1: be busy. And that's why I think football was gratefully
Speaker 1: because there's always something to do. There's always more film
Speaker 1: to watch, there's always more ways to lift. Um, there's
Speaker 1: always more sprints to run. Uh, there's always more treatment,
Speaker 1: always more time in the colde to um and so
Speaker 1: um that work ethic that I as a football player,
Speaker 1: you know, I just moved all that energy and put
Speaker 1: it into this. And so yeah, I have a TV
Speaker 1: series called Johnson on Bounce TV that I'm the showrunner
Speaker 1: and executive producer and also one of the lead actors.
Speaker 1: Um that's on Bounce TV. And so, um, you know,
Speaker 1: we're preparing as though we have a season three renewal.
Speaker 1: We haven't heard officially yet, but we're preparing as though
Speaker 1: we are. So if we you know, we do get
Speaker 1: the news, then we're already on the ground running in
Speaker 1: Atlanta is where we film. Um. I'm actually hosted a
Speaker 1: film festival in l a four day film festival, the
Speaker 1: Pan African Film Festival, which is a huge festival. UM.
Speaker 1: And I'm one of the host or the host of
Speaker 1: the film festival. UM. And I'll spe speaking on several panels.
Speaker 1: One of the panels is athletes in Hollywood, which is
Speaker 1: for the interesting. Uh. There's a few athletes now that
Speaker 1: that have transitioned into Hollywood on myself. Matthew Cherry, who
Speaker 1: was an Oscar winning director. Uh Namdi Asoma played for
Speaker 1: the Raiders and uh he's been in some incredible films. Uh,
Speaker 1: Michael straighthand obviously UM Terry Crews. So it'll be a
Speaker 1: really really cool panel. UM have another series that's about
Speaker 1: to be green lit now. I can't give too many
Speaker 1: details about it, but we're literally uh negotiating their numbers
Speaker 1: and and and that stuff now right like today. Hopefully
Speaker 1: the deal will be done by next week and then
Speaker 1: um I'll posted on my social media page. UM. I
Speaker 1: have a series of football series called Life After that's
Speaker 1: on video right now that follows the lives of twelve
Speaker 1: different NFL players and it showcases some of their the
Speaker 1: struggles and triumphs of retirement. My story is included as well.
Speaker 1: UM So yeah, I also have a technology company. You know.
Speaker 1: I have a mobile app called cast Star for talent
Speaker 1: casting talent um. So you can download that apps. I
Speaker 1: mean anything that I feel is going to be challenging. Uh,
Speaker 1: it's gonna help me evolve and grow and learning things.
Speaker 1: I just I grab it immediately because I'm addicted to information.
Speaker 1: I'm addicted to knowledge, and I'm addicted to to to
Speaker 1: growing involving. Do you sleep, No, I don't I sleep.
Speaker 1: I'm a napper. I'm a napper. You know. I go.
Speaker 1: I'm like you know, you know those people who never
Speaker 1: charged their phone and you're in the middle of conversation
Speaker 1: with an All of a sudden, the battery. The battery dies.
Speaker 1: That's me bad to me. The battery dies, and then
Speaker 1: you charge it up or full and then you go again.
Speaker 1: And that's that's what makes me happy. Okay, as far
Speaker 1: as acting is concerned, how do you avoid being typecast
Speaker 1: for certain roles because your former NFL running back, you're
Speaker 1: a big dude, you got big pipes. I mean, you
Speaker 1: can't go through a security clearance without somebody flagging you
Speaker 1: for the guns man. Um. But but how how did
Speaker 1: you like get over that hurdle? Because I gotta imagine
Speaker 1: people are like, yeah, it's a big guy and he's
Speaker 1: a former football player, so we're just gonna make him
Speaker 1: the athlete, right. Well, I thought about that before I
Speaker 1: started acting, and um, I added my middle initial to
Speaker 1: my stage name, Thomas Q. Jones. So hopefully we'll throw
Speaker 1: people off that new my name is a football player,
Speaker 1: at least until it had a chance to see me
Speaker 1: audition or see me on a show or in a film. Uh.
Speaker 1: And it worked because it's very easy to be type
Speaker 1: cast as an athlete because people they don't expect you
Speaker 1: to be able to do anything else, especially if you've
Speaker 1: had a great career. Uh, they don't expect you to
Speaker 1: be able to do anything else as as well. And so, um,
Speaker 1: when I started my career, I was like, Hey, I
Speaker 1: want to come in this business as Thomas Q. Jones,
Speaker 1: the actor. I want to be known as that first,
Speaker 1: which means that everything I do in my life has
Speaker 1: to be towards Thomas Q. Jones. Thomas Jones, I almost
Speaker 1: have to forget him, at least for the time being,
Speaker 1: until I'm able to earn the respect of my fellow actors,
Speaker 1: casting directors, directors, producers, and also the fans. For people
Speaker 1: to see me and say, hey, that's the character on
Speaker 1: the show and then say, oh, that was Thomas Jones
Speaker 1: from the Jets, you know. Um. So it took a while.
Speaker 1: It took a while, but but unfortunately, I think a
Speaker 1: lot of people now respect me as an actor. I've
Speaker 1: been in some really really cool projects and it's a
Speaker 1: really really really good performing too. So um, yeah, man,
Speaker 1: I feel like it's worked. What's it like being a
Speaker 1: leading man somebody's love interest. Yeah, it's cool, man. You know,
Speaker 1: it's like being number one on the depth chart, you know. Uh,
Speaker 1: it's like being a starter. Um, you know, I've always always,
Speaker 1: I've always had a high expectations. I expect to be
Speaker 1: the best. I expect to compete with the best. Um,
Speaker 1: can you talk about those roles? Yeah? Yeah, so you know, UM,
Speaker 1: my first breakout opportunity, I was on a show called
Speaker 1: Being Mary Jane, which was a huge show for BT,
Speaker 1: starring Gabrielle Union and UM. I was cast to play
Speaker 1: one of her love interests back in two thousand and fourteen.
Speaker 1: Um and so, um, you know, obviously I hadn't acted
Speaker 1: extensively at that time, but um, the role was cool
Speaker 1: because it was actually a football player. UM and so
Speaker 1: I had to have some pretty intimate scenes with her.
Speaker 1: And you know, I wasn't I wouldn't say I wasn't.
Speaker 1: I wasn't nervous about the scenes. I just wanted people
Speaker 1: to take me seriously. I didn't want people to look
Speaker 1: and say, oh, you know, I don't believe him. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, there's certain people that make a transition, whether
Speaker 1: it's an actor into music or it's an athlete into
Speaker 1: into acting, and then they don't take it serious and
Speaker 1: then they go out there and then they kind of, um,
Speaker 1: you know, make a mockery themselves. You know, and I
Speaker 1: just didn't want to be one of those guys. So
Speaker 1: um it was a great experience. Gabriel was incredible, she
Speaker 1: was dupe. She's a great actors, great person. Um and
Speaker 1: and after I did that, Rose was three episodes to
Speaker 1: give me a lot more confidence moving forward as a
Speaker 1: leading man, and it set my my my expectations they
Speaker 1: were very high at that point in regards to who
Speaker 1: I was going to be in Hollywood. I want to
Speaker 1: be a leading man. I want to be number one
Speaker 1: on the call sheet. Um and and so far that's
Speaker 1: been able to happen. We talked about it before briefly,
Speaker 1: but straight out of time. Something was that a breakthrough
Speaker 1: even though that okay, this scene, you're not in the
Speaker 1: movie for fifteen minutes, but just being in a movie
Speaker 1: that was so well received, um and with so many
Speaker 1: actors who you respect, and it was so well uh
Speaker 1: put out. I mean, what did that mean to you? Personally?
Speaker 1: It was? It was man, I had no idea that
Speaker 1: that movie was good to take off like that, And
Speaker 1: and I hadn't seen the film, so I didn't even
Speaker 1: know when my scene and I hadn't read the script
Speaker 1: because it's the role was so small that they just
Speaker 1: sent me my lines um. And then I did the
Speaker 1: audition and it was like fifty big guys in there,
Speaker 1: and the name of the character is large man. I
Speaker 1: mean it didn't there wasn't even a name for the guy.
Speaker 1: It was like a large man. He's gonna do this thing.
Speaker 1: He's gonna walk up to this guy's and he's gonna
Speaker 1: say whatever. Um. So it was very like unexpected you
Speaker 1: even the audition. I went in and I was there
Speaker 1: for like an hour and uh finally got in and
Speaker 1: said my three lines and I walked out. And then
Speaker 1: the next day they called said, hey, we're like him
Speaker 1: for the role. And then um, you know, I'm out
Speaker 1: of Calabasas and I'm filming, and then you know, I left,
Speaker 1: and I didn't know who else was in the film
Speaker 1: I had. I didn't they didn't see me the entire script.
Speaker 1: I only had like one page of lines um. So
Speaker 1: you know, when I started seeing all the the press
Speaker 1: and the memes straight out of Compton, straight out of
Speaker 1: and everybody's seeing where they're straight out of whatever their
Speaker 1: town is, the city is, and I started started seeing
Speaker 1: the momentum, I was like, oh wow, this is is
Speaker 1: pretty cool, you know, But I hadn't seen the movie.
Speaker 1: They invited me to the premiere, and so I went
Speaker 1: to the premiere and I was sitting in the premiere
Speaker 1: with my manager and uh, I was watching the film
Speaker 1: and I was like, Wow, this is good. Um. Literally,
Speaker 1: I'm like, this is a good movie. Like, because I
Speaker 1: didn't know what was happening. I didn't know. I hadn't
Speaker 1: seen that. I hadn't read the script. And then it
Speaker 1: gets dark in the theater and then all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: I hear my voice because it was dark and so
Speaker 1: I couldn't really see it's nighttime on the screen. So
Speaker 1: I'm like, then I hear my voice and like and
Speaker 1: the theater is packed. Everybody's in there. I mean the
Speaker 1: producers dre q F, Gary Grater director. I was actually
Speaker 1: sitting next to Kenya Bursts, the creative Blackish. He's sitting
Speaker 1: right next to me, and you know, I'm like, whoa,
Speaker 1: and I see my face and I'm like it was
Speaker 1: it was just a real moment. I'm like, that's me
Speaker 1: on the screen in front of all these people, um,
Speaker 1: playing this role. And even though it was three lines,
Speaker 1: you know, it was a pivotal point in the movie
Speaker 1: and you could kind of hear after my character walked away.
Speaker 1: You can hear like the relief for the theater, and
Speaker 1: it was very powerful. It was like, whoa, that's how
Speaker 1: powerful cinema is. And I'm just sitting there and all
Speaker 1: of a sudden, people are like kind of looking at me.
Speaker 1: That's him, and you'll start whispering. So it was a
Speaker 1: cool moment. Man. It was kind of like a wow,
Speaker 1: like you're really in Hollywood moment. Hey man, you've been
Speaker 1: so gracious with your time. I only got a couple
Speaker 1: more and now I'm gonna have you. I'm gonna circle
Speaker 1: back with you. We're definitely gonna have you on the
Speaker 1: podcast more. You're not gonna be a stranger character the Jets,
Speaker 1: um Luke Cage, Uh that series. You're rolling there working
Speaker 1: with those kind of actors. What was that all? Like?
Speaker 1: That was it was great. Um, you know, shout out
Speaker 1: to Jail Coker that created the show for believing to
Speaker 1: me and giving me an opportunity to audition, but also
Speaker 1: um the roller auditioned for they it was it was
Speaker 1: ended up they ended up casting Theo Rossi. But he
Speaker 1: wrote in another character command You, He wrote that character
Speaker 1: in for me because that character was not in the
Speaker 1: original breakdown for the shows. Obviously a character in the
Speaker 1: comic book, but um, budget wise, they were like, hey,
Speaker 1: you know, this character is kind of insignificant in the
Speaker 1: story because he was more shades you know friend, you know. Um,
Speaker 1: but Cho saw my audition and I was like, hey,
Speaker 1: this gotta be perfect for Comanche. Creative genius, creative mind. Um.
Speaker 1: But it was great working with Theo Rossi, one of
Speaker 1: the best in the business. Alfred Woodard one of the
Speaker 1: best in the business. Um, you know, maybe have to
Speaker 1: bring my a game and and perform and dial in
Speaker 1: because I mean these are prose you know, while while
Speaker 1: I was playing in the NFC Championship game, you know,
Speaker 1: they're on set. No, they're you know, performing in uh
Speaker 1: you know and working with huge actors while I'm you know,
Speaker 1: running for a hundred yards against Buffalo or something. You know,
Speaker 1: It's like I'm doing something drastically different than what they're
Speaker 1: both equally doing at the same time. So you know,
Speaker 1: I was the odd man out, but I loved it
Speaker 1: because he gave me out. Tony for forming the pressure.
Speaker 1: When they say action is spright lights man, it's like Hey,
Speaker 1: it's a night games, Monday night football, Sunday night football,
Speaker 1: Thursday night football, whole city, whole town, holds countries watching
Speaker 1: you know. So, Um, that rush was was in that
Speaker 1: dopamine release of like this is pressure, you gotta step
Speaker 1: up to the plate um that was. That was a great,
Speaker 1: great feeling for me. So I love those type of
Speaker 1: moments where you know, I'm thrown in the mix and
Speaker 1: I have to because then it's exciting. Now it feels
Speaker 1: like a little bit like football again. You're a young dude.
Speaker 1: You got many chapters left in that book. But if
Speaker 1: somebody were to play Thomas Jones down the line in
Speaker 1: a movie, who what do you want that to be?
Speaker 1: There's there's there's this incredible young actor, young man on
Speaker 1: my show Johnson and he actually on my own soul Johnson.
Speaker 1: My character, Omar Johnson is my character's name. He plays
Speaker 1: a father, UM that's having some marital issues and he
Speaker 1: has a son. And you know, we cast this kid
Speaker 1: to play my son um season one of the show,
Speaker 1: and we just hit it off immediately. He looks like me,
Speaker 1: He's got similar energies, very very smart, um, and he
Speaker 1: would be perfect to play me. His name's Kalle White. Okay,
Speaker 1: I love that, love that shout out. Okay, the Jets
Speaker 1: they're on the hunt for a veteran quarterback. They're committed
Speaker 1: to finding a veteran quarterback this offseason. Any thoughts on
Speaker 1: that because we talked about your Jets three years here
Speaker 1: with the different quarterbacks and you want from one and
Speaker 1: of the spectrum to the other with far you know eight,
Speaker 1: then you go to Sanchez and O nine. What do
Speaker 1: you think about what their hunt here as they look
Speaker 1: for a quarterback. I mean, I think they need someone
Speaker 1: that can come in and play now, someone that's done it,
Speaker 1: someone that can push u Aac Wilson um because a
Speaker 1: lot of times competition makes you better. You know, competition
Speaker 1: brings the best out of you. It did for me.
Speaker 1: I mean I was in constant competition at every team,
Speaker 1: and I think, uh, Derek carr Um, it's really good
Speaker 1: out in Oakland. You know, obviously didn't work out with him,
Speaker 1: but he's a very solid quarterback. Um. I don't know
Speaker 1: too much because I honestly, I don't really watch much
Speaker 1: football this time of year. I don't watch at all
Speaker 1: because I have PTSD from losing the Super Bowl. So
Speaker 1: I don't really watch the playoffs, and UH see it
Speaker 1: on Twitter obviously, now you know the social media. But
Speaker 1: I don't really watch the games. You know, I'm usually
Speaker 1: doing something else. Um, but I know there's some really
Speaker 1: solid quarterbacks out there that could come in, uh in
Speaker 1: challenge Jack Wilson. You know, I think the kids got talent.
Speaker 1: You know, I think he's got talent. He's gotta he's
Speaker 1: got a lot of growing up to do. Man, this
Speaker 1: is the NFL. Um. Nobody cares about your feelings. Nobody
Speaker 1: cares about um, you know, your maturation process. Um. This
Speaker 1: is a business. People want to win. They want to
Speaker 1: win now. Um, they don't you know, they're spending money
Speaker 1: on tickets now, and that spending money on tickets for
Speaker 1: you to lose now so you can win next year,
Speaker 1: you know. Um. And a lot of times young players
Speaker 1: don't really understand it because they're still young years old,
Speaker 1: twenty two years old, you know. Um. But you know,
Speaker 1: someone to come in, a veteran to come in and
Speaker 1: challenge him and um, and it's gonna make the whole
Speaker 1: team better. Thomas Q. Jones, I appreciate you coming on
Speaker 1: the pod. Uh. You have a lot of fans here
Speaker 1: in New York. Still, the beauty of you playing with
Speaker 1: multiple teams throughout your career is that your tree has
Speaker 1: a lot of branches. And now I know a lot
Speaker 1: of people are rooting for you as your career continues
Speaker 1: to ascend in Los Angeles, in Miami, in Atlanta. And
Speaker 1: and who's keeping your company out? You still got the
Speaker 1: dog and the cat? Is that right? Yeah? Yeah, they're
Speaker 1: still they're still rocking with me man. Nina my bulldog,
Speaker 1: she's uh, should be twelve this year. Uh. And Leo,
Speaker 1: I having my hairless cat, Leo, he'll be twelve this
Speaker 1: year too. Uh. So they're still going, Man, twelve years
Speaker 1: in the NFL. And and and they'll vote, they'll vote
Speaker 1: be twelve. So twelve is a lucky number. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: you gotta thanks for having me.