Tomlinson OK with backing up Greene
LaDainian Tomlinson is ready for the lockout to be over. He's also ready to ease into a role as more of a third-down running back for the Jets and understudy to Shonn Greene in the backfield when the NFL and the players settle their labor dispute.
"I think that's definitely a role that fits me," Tomlinson said Wednesday during a promotional appearance in Times Square for the new USA Network show "Necessary Roughness". "I've always envisioned, as I got older, this is the role I would like to take. And I'm ready to take that role. Things can change, but that's something I'm willing to accept."
Tomlinson resurrected his NFL career last season after a decade with the Chargers, rushing for 914 yards and six touchdowns as the featured back for the bulk of the Jets season.
As one of the more high-profile players in the NFL, Tomlinson said he was asked to be one of the named plaintiffs in the players' lawsuit against the league to lift the lockout. His name would have been alongside former teammate Drew Brees', Tom Brady's and Osi Umenyiora's, among others.
But Tomlinson decided to take a more diplomatic approach.
"I'm kind of at the point where I really wanted to be low-key with this thing," he said. "Not that I didn't want to be a guy who stated my opinion at times, but I just didn't want to cross both sides. Call me a politician or whatever, but I think sometimes players can mess things up. We need to let people with the expertise at it handle it."
The lockout may have slowed the Jets' momentum coming off a second straight AFC title game appearance, but Tomlinson isn't too concerned.
"It is frustrating because we expected to build on what we did last year," he said. "And the way you do it is by being around each other again, going through the offseason workouts. So it has been frustrating. But at the same time, I think we have done enough to keep us in tune to the playbook, into that camaraderie we have as a team. I'm not as concerned as other teams who haven't done anything."
