Ben Jones, Titans Agree to 2-Year Contract Extension Worth Reported $13.5M

The Tennessee Titans announced Friday that they agreed to a multiyear contract extension with center Ben Jones. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, the deal is worth $13.5 million over two years.

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel praised Jones earlier in the week, per Jim Wyatt of the team's website: 

"I think when you look at Ben's personality, he's got a great reach in the locker room, he's got a great ability to reach a lot of different players and a lot of different positions. I think first of all that that's unique. He's a very instinctive and aware player. He's a very smart football player and I would say that his number one redeeming quality is his toughness. So, when you combine all those things together, I think you could play multiple positions."

Jones was already under contract for the 2019 campaign, so the extension locks him up through the 2021 season. The 30-year-old has been an important piece for an offensive line that is one of the strengths of the team.

Pro Football Focus ranked the Titans O-line as the fourth-best coming into the 2019 season, calling it "well-balanced." The site noted that "Taylor Lewan continues to be the anchor at left tackle, and the addition of guard Rodger Saffold should only improve this unit as he finished last season with the fifth-highest run-blocking grade at his position."

Tennessee built its offense around the running game, tallying 2,023 yards on the ground in 2018 (126.4 per game) to finish with the seventh-best unit in the NFL. Given the inconsistent play of quarterback Marcus Mariota in the past, establishing a solid running game will again be a priority, both this season and beyond.

That made locking up Jones a logical move. Since joining the Titans in 2016, he's never missed a start, and he has started 80 straight games. That level of reliability also made him valuable.