CORTLAND — LaDainian Tomlinson may be a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, but on the Jets he’s a backup.
For the first time in his career, Tomlinson, 31, who spent the last nine years with the Chargers, isn’t the feature back. Instead, he’s a complimentary option behind starter Shonn Greene.
“That’s something that plays itself out on its own,” Tomlinson said of his role in the offense. “We’re here to play football. Shonn and I are both gonna play a lot, and we’re gonna challenge each other and we’re gonna get better. That’s what we’re gonna do.”
Some veterans would bristle at the notion of helping a younger player who was set to take away from their playing time. But Tomlinson said he was looking forward to helping Greene, who’s entering his second-year, grow as a player.
“That’s important for guys who have been in the league as long as I have, really, is to grab the young guys and teach them something before we leave the league,” he said. “Probably the greatest compliment we can get is for a young guy like Shonn Greene, later on in his career, to say, ‘I had L.T. to help me in certain situations, and he really helped my career.’ ”
One thing Tomlinson is expected to bring to the offense is the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. Once Leon Washington was lost for the season with a broken leg in Week 7 against Oakland, the Jets lost their only true pass-catching back.
“During the offseason, coming on the visit and talking to [offensive coordinator] Brian Schottenheimer and [running backs coach] Anthony Lynn and other guys on the offensive staff, that’s one thing they thought I could add to this team. If that’s the case, I’m gonna do the best job I can at it.”
After last season, when Tomlinson rushed for a career-low 730 yards, many observers wondered if his time as an effective NFL running back had come to an end. But that only serves as extra motivation for the league’s eighth all-time leading rusher with 12,490 yards.
“I always have a chip on my shoulder,” Tomlinson said. “As athletes, we look for the chips, and I’ve definitely got a few of them.”