TAMPA — A promotion from the practice squad to the active roster usually brings with it a sizeable raise in pay for an NFL player. That’s not how things worked out for Buccaneers defensive end Howard Jones, though.
Not that Jones minds all that much. After all, the Bucs had already given the rookie a sizeable raise.
On the day they signed him to the practice squad, the Bucs raised Jones’ pay from the $6,600 he made as a practice squad player with the Steelers last year to $25,500 per week.
“That really made me feel good,’’ Jones said of the $435,000 rookie-level contract Tampa Bay gave him after Pittsburgh released him during final roster cuts.