Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.
#42: S Colin Jones
Well this one just so happens to coincide with the jersey number, as we celebrate former safety/cornerback and special teams player, The Ace That Runs The Place COLIN JONES!
Jones was drafted in the 6th round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, and spent one season there before the Panthers acquired him in August of 2012, shipping off a 2014 7th round pick for his services. This transaction turned out to be a bargain, as Colin Jones played in 124 games as a Panther from 2012 to 2019 in various capacities, mostly as a special teams ace, but he did start 14 games as either a spot starter at safety, and even as a nickel cornerback at times in a pinch. Jones logged 3 interceptions and 7 pass deflections when called upon in these duties, but he will always be remembered as a special teams player, and a stalwart one for this team.
I know, I know, there’s likely going to be booing in the comment section. But, I have prepared my arguments for why Colin Jones belongs on this list. First of all, in the two seasons Colin Jones started 3 or more games (2015-3 starts, 2017-7 starts), the Panthers made the playoffs! Secondly, Colin Jones is the second most veteran DEFENSIVE BACK in Carolina Panthers history with 124 games played for the franchise, trailing only Mike Minter with 148 games played. He is the 7th most veteran defender in general for the Panthers, trailing only Thomas Davis, Julius Peppers, Mike Minter, Charles Johnson, Mike Rucker, and Jason Kyle in games played for the franchise.
The Ace That Runs The Place is low-key one of the better trades the Panthers have ever made, trading away a 7th round pick two years out from the transaction. What they got was a special teams ace who stepped in to whatever role was needed when called upon, and spent 7 seasons in Carolina doing so. While fans often wanted to see him released during that time for the shiny, new undrafted free agents to serve as safety 4/5 on the depth chart, I truly hope the heart has grown fonder now that we can look back half a decade later at his services. And we’ll always have this crazy interception, and his run on a fake punt.
When all was said and done, Jones very much embodied the Keep Pounding philosophy in the sense of simply doing the job he was asked of, even if it was doing something like playing nickel corner since the Panthers didn’t value depth corners during the large portion of his career. Maybe that’s on the coaches, or maybe they had the knowledge that the answer was on the roster already. Either way, celebrate the 42nd best corner down below!
