When the New England Revolution signed US Men’s National Team star Jermaine Jones in 2014 it energized the team and the fanbase. With the Revs trudging along in mediocrity and with no designated players on the roster, the addition of Jones was a huge boost for the team. Not only did Jones put butts in the seats and boost jersey sales, but he also helped the Revs reach MLS Cup less than five months after he arrived. But all good things must come to an end.
The Revs traded Jermaine Jones to the Colorado Rapids late Friday night for an undisclosed amount of allocation money and the Rapids 1st round pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. Even though it is sad for the fanbase to see the USMNT star leave, it was probably best for both parties. One cannot be upset with Jones for wanting a longer contract with a reasonable salary, but one also should understand why Revs would show a reluctance to give him that contract. Don’t forget that it was about more than money for Jones as well. Jones wanted to be closer to his family on the west coast and Colorado does that for him.
It was obvious that the Revs and Jones were not going to agree on a contract so in the end both sides benefited. The Revolution got a draft pick that could turn out to be a top five pick, if 2016 is anything like last year for the Rapids. Colorado received a veteran midfielder that could desperately help the rebuilding franchise. Jones will bring a a veteran presence to go along with Sean St. Ledger and Kevin Doyle already with the Rapids. The Rapids don’t plan on making Jones a designated player as they will pay his salary down with additional allocation money.
Hopefully the Revs have found a short term replacement for Jones when they traded for Gershon Koffie from the Vancouver Whitecaps. It can be assumed that Koffie will play out the last year of his contract with the Revs, and then the Designated Player the Revs signed inFebruary, Xavier Kouassi from FC Scion, will step into the holding midfielder role once he’s recovered from his ACL surgery.
In the end both sides should be happy with the trade. The Revs got something for a player that was never going to play for the Revs again and Jones got what he was looking for.
