CLEVELAND — Tony Jones, who spent most of the early 1990s protecting the blind sides of Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde in Cleveland, has died at the age of 54.
The Denver Broncos, whom Jones played for from 1997-2000, confirmed he had passed away in his native Georgia. A cause of death was not immediately available.
Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Browns out of Western Carolina in 1988, Jones played sparingly as a backup before emerging as a starter by the end of the 1989 season. He was the right guard for both of Cleveland's playoff games that year, including a loss to Denver in the AFC Championship Game.
Jones would start every remaining game of his Browns career for the next six seasons, first at right tackle before moving permanently to the left side in 1991 under head coach Bill Belichick. He became one of the NFL's most reliable offensive linemen, and enjoyed his best year with the club in 1994 when he earned second-team All-Pro honors from the Associated Press. Blocking for both Testaverde and Pro Bowl fullback Leroy Hoard, he helped Cleveland finish and 11-5 and advance to the AFC divisional round of the postseason.
The Browns were expected to be a Super Bowl contender in 1995, but collapsed to a 5-11 record after owner Art Modell announced he was moving the team to Baltimore. Jones would stay with the new Ravens in their inaugural 1996 season before being traded to the Broncos, where he won back-to-back championships in 1997-98 and made his only Pro Bowl in the latter year.
"He was an amazing guy, a heck of a nice guy," former teammate and Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Atwater told denverbroncos.com. "Great football player — mean, nasty. That's the kind of guy that you want to go to war with if you're going to war. And we were really good friends."
Browns legends Kosar and Eric Metcalf also paid tribute to "T-Bone" on Twitter.
