The Jacksonville Jaguars signed former Steeler QB Landry Jones on Oct. 31, played the Steelers on Nov. 18, and then cut him the next day


… should this be outlawed?


Last Sunday, Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield refused to shake hands with Coach Hue Jackson after his team defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.

Why?

Jackson was the coach of the Cleveland until he was fired on Oct. 29. The Bengals immediately hired him as a special assistant to the head coach. Jackson won just three games out of 40 as head coach of the Browns, two of them this season.

Mayfield was upset because Jackson knew the system that the Browns were using, and it was a slap at them after asking them to play well for him.

This sort of things goes on with players all the time.

Landry Jones to the Jags -- for two weeks

On Oct. 31, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed former Pittsburgh Steelers backup QB Landry Jones, two week before they played the Steelers. Why would they sign a player the Steelers had given up on after training camp after trying to make him a decent backup QB for five years?

Because he knew the Steelers’ playbook very well, so why not.

There is nothing illegal about doing this. A few years ago, New England Coach Bill Bellichick signed former Pittsburgh Steeler star linebackers James Harrison, 40-years-old, who had been cut by the Steelers late in the season.

This was a very different situation from the Landry Jones deal. Harrison is a former Super Bowl champion who was also an NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the Steelers. Did they want to obtain inside information about the Steeler defense from Harrison?

Of course.

Quandary

The only question is whether or not any of this should — or can be — outlawed by the NFL. It should be, but it is almost impossible to regulate. Players have a right to sign with anyone once they are released by another team.

Signing them for just a period of time so that they can pick a guy’s brain and then dispose of him is sleazy, degrading, but it cannot be regulated.

Jones may have give the Jags defense a lift and some insight about their offense. But, think about how he felt after he was released the day after the game. You almost feel used, abused.

That, however, is the nature of the business -- and it's not going to change.

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