The NFL Network's Jason La Canfora has reported via Twitter that the Detroit Lions have cut veteran tackle Jon Jansen.
The Lions have released veteran T Jon Jansen, likely ending his playing career. He was a stalwart RT for Redskins most of his career.
Jansen was Washington's second-round pick in 1999 out of Michigan, and before playing last season with Detroit, he was a 10-year Redskin. For the first five years of his career, you couldn't have asked for a more reliable right tackle as Jansen didn't miss a game from 1999-2003.
However, Jansen's career was put on hold in 2004 as he tore his Achilles in the Hall of Fame game against Denver that year. He missed the entire season, but returned for a signature 2005 campaign.
The Redskins finished 2005 at 10-6 with Jansen and bookend tackle Chris Samuels anchoring a line that paved the way for nine 100-yard rushing performances from Clinton Portis. Jansen played in all 16 games that season including several games with a pair of broken thumbs.
Injuries continued to haunt him, as he played several games in 2006 with a torn hamstring (and they say today's football players aren't tough?). Then in 2007, he suffered a gruesome ankle injury in the season opener against Miami, which forced him to miss the entire year.
Jansen played two more years for the 'Skins, but injuries had taken their toll. He was never the same, but teammates still called him "Rock," a nickname he had earned in Michigan after starting 50 straight games there.
Jansen's career is a blue-collar work of art, defined by the two club-like casts he wore throughout 2005 to protect his thumbs. We all died a little inside in 2007 as he lay on the ground looking at his ankle twisted in a way no ankle should ever be.
Despite all the injuries he was a throwback to the "Hogs" of old. He was the "Rock," and we'll miss him.