By now, even the most casual of Patriots fans must know that Chandler Jones is the younger brother of MMA champion Jon "Bones" Jones. New England's starting defensive end has talked about it numerous times.
The sibling subject came up again on Friday, a day before "Bones" defends his light heavyweight title in Toronto. The younger Jones told reporters how working out with "Bones" and his other big brother, Arthur (a Baltimore Ravens defensive lineman), is helping his repertoire of moves on the football field, where he has often been asked this year to move inside and rush from the tackle position.
"This offseason has been great. I was doing a lot of 'no hands' technique, a little boxing with my brothers. It's definitely helping, definitely helping, especially playing down in the trenches. It's a lot faster. When you're playing defensive end, you don't have anyone outside of you. When you're down in the '3' technique or '2-I,' there's a tackle, there's a center, there's a guard, anyone can block you so you have to be ready for any different scheme possible.
"I'm getting familiar with it," Jones said of his more regular interior position. "Every third down or whenever I get called to go down there, I'll play that position whenever Bill calls that package. It's fun."
Though focused on his game on Sunday at 1 o'clock here at Gillette Stadium, Jones admitted he's anxious to watch his brother step into the ring again on Saturday night.
"I'm excited for his fight Saturday. Hopefully, he doesn't have me staying up too late because I have a game the next morning. Go Jon 'Bones' Jones! I'm his biggest fan. I haven't really talked to him. He's focused."
Sudfeld hopeful
Rookie tight end Zach Sudfeld missed Week 2's win over the Jets because of a hamstring problem. However, he has been a full participant in practices this Bucs Week and is hopeful of getting back on the game field this Sunday.
"Definitely, it was very difficult [to sit last week], but there's nothing you can really do about it," Sudfeld told reporters. "I'm just taking it a day at a time and just trying to do what I can to improve in every aspect."
Wide receiver and special teams co-captain Matthew Slater (wrist) was once again the only Patriot missing from practice.
The official injury/practice participation report, to be released around 4 p.m. EST, will give us a clearer picture of injured players' statuses for the Bucs game.
