HOUSTON -- Although he was drafted to play the position in 2012, Ben Jones didn't become the Houston Texans' starting center until the 2015 season after the team moved on from longtime center Chris Myers.
The 2015 season was a tumultuous one, and Jones was critical for the Texans to get through it.
"He’s done a really good job of running the show up front, and yeah, he’s had to put in extra time with all those guys," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. "He meets early in the morning. I think they meet Wednesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 in the morning, just him and the quarterbacks. They do it after practice. ... So he’s had to do that with everybody."
Better known for his wacky personality, Jones' knowledge of the offense helped as the Texans switched between four different starting quarterbacks during the season. Jones worked with Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, T.J. Yates and Brandon Weeden.
"I’ve been in the system for two years and I’ve poured everything I have into it, and switching quarterbacks, we had to be on the same page and I knew that," Jones said. "So the extra meetings, the before and after practice that we spent the time to make sure everything went smoothly so we could be in the (playoffs)."
He did all of it while playing with what O'Brien said was a sprained medial collateral ligament and bad back. For his part, Jones called them "bumps and bruises." He said he wouldn't have to have surgeries on anything.
His contribution is one the Texans will have to consider this offseason, as Jones gets set to hit free agency, and it's one Jones says he isn't thinking about. Jones is one of a handful of pending free agents on the Texans' roster right now.
"I’ve done everything I can and it’s up to them right now," Jones said.
