Jones’ agent Jimmy Sexton gave him a warning before the game. He told Jones’ to take his cell phone with him on the field during warmups, because the parties were so closed to a deal.
“I figured out and knew for sure that it was done was when Mr. Blank got here,” Jones said. “He came on the field and gave me a big hug. He was like ‘congratulations.’ He said he was very proud of the way I handled this. … by keeping the team first.”
What Blank seem to admire most was that Jones didn’t bicker in public about the negotiations.
“We couldn’t be more enthused about it than what we are,” Blank said. “He’s been a great player for us. He represents everything that we love in terms of a player on-the-field and off-the-field.”
Blank took note of other wide receivers around the league, who went public with their contract demands.
“He came to work and worked hard,” Blank said. “It was never an issue. There was never a question. He knew that we’d eventually be able to pull something together that would be acceptable to us and to him. We were able to do that.