APChiefs first round wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin was mysteriously missing from Chiefs practice on Wednesday.
A radio report in Kansas City hinted there may be more to the story, but we passed on mentioning it until more information came out. Well, it’s out now.
If Nick Wright of 610 Radio in Kansas City is right, the story is a doozy.
Wright reports that Baldwin will likely miss the rest of the preseason after injuring his wrist during a locker room scuffle with teammate Thomas Jones. Baldwin’s work ethic has reportedly been an issue.
“He’s as advertised,” a source tells Wright. “Diva, spoiled, doesn’t wanna listen. Can run a Go and a Slant, and doesn’t wanna work.”
The Chiefs flew to Baltimore on Thursday in preparation for Friday’s preseason game. The team hasn’t said whether Baldwin was on the flight with them.
Baldwin was already struggling in Chiefs camp before this news came out. He looks unlikely to play much early in the year.
UPDATE: Adam Schefter confirms the story is spot on. Wright, meanwhile, believes Baldwin could be out 6-8 weeks and is very questionable for the season opener.
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Sad to say but maybe everyone was right about this kid…with that attitude and less then spectacular skills (for a 1st round WR) he might be on the road to the dreaded B-U-S-T title.
If he never learns, he will be a bust
If he mans up sooner rather than later, he will show toughness and be a good player.
Which way do you wanna go Jonathan?
thats a good one, not sure who is to blame more, him or Thomas Jones
If true….
Jonathan Baldwin = Douche
Suspend him without pay.
“Diva, spoiled, doesn’t wanna listen. … and doesn’t wanna work.”
Other than that, he’s been a pleasure.
Every report of this guy coming out of college was spot on.
He threw his coaches and QB under the bus and was a HUGE risk coming out.
And now the Chiefs are paying for it.
What’s goin’ on, Pioli?
Is he Kenny Britt’s long-lost twin brother?
Nice pickup by the Chiefs, NOT!
“He’s as advertised,” a source tells Wright. “Diva, spoiled, doesn’t wanna listen. Can run a Go and a Slant, and doesn’t wanna work.”
Nuff said.
LOL 6 rings
Good decision making there, Pioli and Haley. #1 pick: “Sloppy route runner that struggles to separate from quicker defensive backs. Takes too many false steps in transition and does not always find soft spots in zone coverage. Does not have enough wiggle to make defenders miss in the open field. Not exactly a willing run blocker and will occasionally take plays off.” Why are there so many lame GMs in the NFL?
Some say he was a reach in the 1st round, and they may have been right. This kid has to realize that he’s not playing in the Big East this season. You have to come in hungry if you want to make an impact in this league.
Did himself no good for either his football or MMA careers.
haha told you so.
Dwayne Jarrett Obliges
Can’t be true cause Pioli only makes good picks…just ask any chief fan. Guys a joke and Baldwin’s a turd.
Dear JB: Please stop disgracing your hometown, high school, college and family. Enough is enough already!
The moral of the story is:
Don’t fight a man with tree trunks for arms.
He’s got a lot to learn about being humble and learning. Cut him and let someone else deal with attitude. Keeping a guy like this is cancerous to the locker room.
Why would you fight Thomas Jones. Have you seen the size of that dude’s neck?
Too bad For KC. They should cut their losses and let the kid go. There is no room for a slacker in a good NFL team. It hurts at first, but in the long run it’s better for the team.
HAHAHAHAHA he doesn’t want to be there.
I thought the Chiefs were better than to draft this guy. He’s a 5’8 receiver trapped in a 6’4 frame.
Locker room fights and scuffles happen. These guys have attitude and you need it to play this game. Not everyone has to get along, this could be just an episode.
It could have been as little as him telling Thomas Jones that Jamal Charles was better…
Jones just didn’t want Todd Haley to get the memo!
“Customer Complaints, Debbie speaking”.
“Yeah, hi, this here’s the Chiefs. Remember that goddamn Baldwin kid? Tall, skinny, morose expression on his face? Yeah, well he turned out to be EXACTLY AS ADVERTISED! What the hell is going on, here? You think we got nothing better to do than baby sit a lazy turd? We’ll send him back and would like our first round pick returned asap. Oh, and don’t pull that crap on us again. We weren’t born yesterday.”.
Learn to punch Jon. Knuckles should be sore.
Good for Thomas Jones…I have been hoping that Gore or Davis do the same thing to ‘King Crab’ and set that diva straight.
The whole team should jump him out by the dumpsters…
Not surprised he hurt his wrist hitting Jones. That guy looks like he is chiseled out of stone.
Shades of another WR from Pitt….. Antonio Bryant….
And seriously, who fights Thomas Jones? He’s one of the most liked guys by his peers in the NFL. Who is he going to fight next?… Kurt Warner?
I arm-wrestled Thomas Jones at UVA and suffered a similar fate.
Look this is just a spawned repsonse of the horrible state of football as a whole. Both it starts in college and continues in the pros. The “Blue Chip” players get everything they want pass classes with out going to them, cars, hookers, etc… anything to keep them happy. They are then drafted passed on potential into the NFL and get that payday and don’t feel like they have to work any more. then followed by the Veterans having 1 breakout year, feeling like it entitles them to renegotiate their contract to the the highest paid. Pro sports pay should be based on performance and you need 2 years to prove you can do it. Colleges, well they just need to stop giving away free educations and catering to these kids, and start doing what they are supposed to, teach these kids in the classroom and on the field, give them values. Otherwise all we do is weaken America by giving these crappy poeple to or youth as Idols and role models.
The rookie wage scale was a step in the right direction, but how would this kid feel if he found out he was not getting paid this year because he was not meeting the minimum criteria to qualify for a pay check.
I don’t know alot of things, but getting into a fight with a guy who has a tattoo on his chest that says “coal miners son.” isn’t a good idea.
Another Wide Receiver another Diva, who would of thunk it.
At least Jerry Angelo didn’t draft him. Olin Kreutz would have killed him.
Wait…….That’s right. Drew Brees says he’s working out well in FunTown.
The Chiefs weren’t used to drafting so low in the First Rd.
TJ apparently doesn’t have the patience for people like this. In 2009 with the Jets he beat up Kerry Rhodes because of his work ethic and diva-like attitude.
When you draft a WR in the 1st round you are spinning the roulette wheel, and you know how that usually turns out.
Punching Thomas Jones? No wonder he hurt his wrist.
Like Arnold’s failed attempt at hitting the Predator…
“bad idea”
Todd Haley thinks he can “fix” any diva WR.
As a Pitt fan, I saw this coming. He’s lazy, self-centered, and a first-class d-bag. I don’t know what the Chiefs were thinking. They could have had Carimi. Wilkerson. Heyward. Sherrod. But no. Baldwin. Well done, Pioli.
starting a fight with a locker room leader as a rookie is no way to start off your career … he still has time to change his ways and lets hope he does
not a bust yet, but he’s well on his way
In the real world, if you call out someone’s work ethic, and he takes a swing at you, you get fired. Believe me….I’ve been warned so now I keep my mouth shut. Hate lazy people.
In the NFL (and at least the Marine Corps) when you handle it in house everything gets sorted out. Things go back to normal a lot quicker.
J. Baldwin will either fit in or he’s going to take a few more laps or a few late hits in practice.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
hobartbaker says:
Aug 19, 2011 1:18 PM
“Customer Complaints, Debbie speaking”.
Good one hobartbaker!
Can you imagine how Chief’s Fans would feel if the Ravens were targeting this same guy and Ravens draft blunder allowed him to slip to the Chiefs? I guess they got him of their own volition.
Good for Jones for taking care of business. Despite being a Ravens fan, I like the Chiefs. The need some kick a$$ guys to be help make them tougher. Good start by Jones. Probably a bad draft pick though. Too soon to tell.
And people thought scott pioli was the mastermind in NE….R I G H T
Thomas Jones? Seriously? Of all people you’re going to pick a fight with Thomas Jones? Not only is the man a brick wall, he’s an extremely well respected veteran in any locker room.
Moves don’t get much dumber than that.
m2karateman says:
Aug 15, 2011 12:36 PM
Baldwin was a big reach by the Chiefs. I was surprised Pioli made such a pick. There were numerous questions regarding Baldwin’s work ethic and maturity. They had a pretty solid draft after taking Baldwin, but that pick still puzzles me. Good teams don’t draft for need, they draft for the best talent available regardless of position or need.
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Hey Chiefs fans….when I made the post shown above previously on PFT, I got 35 thumbs down from you. Well…what do you think now?
And yes, I will say it….I TOLD YOU SO!!
Good luck watching this prima ballerina crash and burn during his “career”.
This is why all that talk on ESPN about paying collee players is misguided. This idiot would have been one of the first to hold out in his junior and senior year.
The Chiefs are not an elite team. Hoever, they have a very good idea of what being a team mate is and Mr. Jones is no one to mess with.
Jonathon Baldwin is standing in the waiting room as the money train starts to pull away. It will be his decision to get aboard, or end up the sole employee of the Baldwin Landscaping and Yard Trimming Service.
Good luck.
I love how people will believe anything they read. Nick Wright is known as Nick Wrong in KC. An hour after the “story” breaks, everyone’s ready to write off Baldwin, Pioli and Haley. Just keep watchin’ the Chiefs. This draft class will go down as one of the best in the history of the NFL. Haley will make Baldwin another Larry Fitzgerald just like he did with Bowe.
Why do lazy people spend more energy being defensive than it would take to just not be lazy?
Get him Thomas!!
pioli, ravioli, stromboli…..mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Somebody please tell me where it says that Baldwin instigated or started the fight? I’m not saying he didn’t by any means, but it’s possible that T.J. lost it about something too. He has had a couple skirmishes already this year in camp, as well as at practice with a couple of his previous teams, and the little dust up after the late hit vs. Tampa Bay (which he rightfully was pissed about). I’m not placing blame either way. I’m just gonna wait and see what happened. People shouldn’t just jump to conclusions so easily. It could have easily been that he sprained it bracing himself or defending himself. Calling Baldwin dumb for this and saying all the previous reports must have been true is really just ignorant. Most other reports have said he has been working very hard to this point yet one “source” says he wasn’t so it MUST be true. Why doesn’t everyone just take a chill pill and not instantly pass judgement on what you assume to have happened.
Thomas Jones roughed up Cedric Benson when he was a rookie. Punched him in the head if I remember correctly.
Hello Bengals
Lucky for him it was Thomas Jones and not Ray Lewis
Thomas Jones is one of the most under-appreciated players in the NFL. Good for him if he really did set this “diva” straight. Wish we had more guys like him on my favorite team (not the Chefs).
cured76 says:
Aug 19, 2011 1:11 PM
Is he Kenny Britt’s long-lost twin brother?
Believe it or not, you don’t really have to worry about this kind of diva attitude with Britt. He’s a pretty hard worker once the pads are on, and always plays with a smile on his face.
The off-field stuff, 90% of which is when he’s back home hanging with his high school buddies still and acting like an immature high schooler, is his big problem.
I read this story and thought the Titans are probably saying to themselves “Well, it could be worse! At least he’s on the field, he plays like a legitimate late first rounder!”
HURT LOCKER! haha get it?
“This draft class will go down as one of the best in the history of the NFL. Haley will make Baldwin another Larry Fitzgerald just like he did with Bowe.”
Is there an award for Homer of the Year? If so, might I suggest this post for consideration?
So I guess Jamaal Charles Fantasy Football stock just went up a bit. Going to have to run the ball a bit more than they thought.
Too bad nobody warned them about this POS. Haha
Woah this is is not on CNN, ESPN ticker, or NFL.com front page about what a dysfunctional franchise this is, bad owners, and players not getting along and is always like this….. ohhhhhhh wait never mind, this is not the Raiders that is why. Let’s keep this hush hush then shall we? pffft
I went to school for a bit with thomas. he is a cool dude i almost guarantee he was trying to help baldwin and baldwin said something smart and disrespectful.
thomas is from a coal miner family from the mountains too. he is tough as nails!
TJ did the same to Cedric benson in Chicago … Baldwin probably broke hurt his wrist trying to punch him
who cares. once he gets healthy he will be better than most teams number 1
Not enough guys like TJ in the league…someone to check these young guns when they need it…
J-E-T-S! we miss you TJ!
david7590 says: Aug 19, 2011 1:36 PM
TJ apparently doesn’t have the patience for people like this. In 2009 with the Jets he beat up Kerry Rhodes because of his work ethic and diva-like attitude.
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Exactamundo. Don’t know how the scuffle started, but have to lean towards TJ’s side. One of the classiest guys in the league and great locker room leader…especially when he leads with a straight right.
Smells like a bust to me…With Breaston and Dwayne Bowe, this guy is gonna be a #3 receiver at best and you DO NOT draft a #3 receiver in the first round.
The Hoodie would cut him…..
Sounds like Plax Jr.
It appears that so far Scott Pioli has messed up 2 of his 3 first round picks. Not a very good average. 2009 Tyson Jackson (called a questionable pick by some at the time) hasn’t done anything to justify his place on the roster so far and even Pioli tellls KC papers that the jury is still out. 2010 Eric Berry by all accounts a true “no-brainer”pick. Then in 2011 another questionable pick a first round WR who doesn’t want to work at his craft.
TJ is the vet locker room enforcer who keeps the punks in line. Message received!
t16rich says:
Learn to punch Jon. Knuckles should be sore.
_____________________________________
Maybe he was trying to “bitch slap”, thus the wrist injury.
This is where I wish Social Media was even more prominent than it is in the NFL – so that I could see video footage of Thomas rocking him with a right hook.
This kid has serious talent, anyone who saw him tip the ball away from coverage & to himself in the Bucs game could see that…doesn’t hurt to have a 40″ vert standing at 6’5″ to begin with.
That said, if he cares about having an NFL career he WILL get his act together. He’s got a 5 year contract & Haley will be more than happy to keep the kid on the bench & covering kickoffs for those 5 years if he doesn’t develop a work ethic. If Baldwin has any doubt about this he should ask his teammate Dwayne Bowe, who was benched most of 2009 behind players like Bobby Wade because he didn’t want to work hard.
Between Jones and Baldwin….I think I’ll side with Jones on this one.
Was wanting to see if this guy could help the Chiefs win their first playoff game since 1993.
Thomas Jones is one player that you don’t want to fight.
I would absolutely never mess with jones. The guy is a tank.
A rookie decides to take on one of the hardest working, stand up guys, like Jones.
Hopefully the kid will wake up, at least Chief’s fans hope.
What a douche canoe.
Good thing he has an super awesome role-model in D.Bowe and a compassionate & understanding players coach in Haley.
Two things. Firstly, I wanted the Packers to draft this guy… so glad they didn’t. Secondly, what an idiot. Thomas Jones is one of the last guys in the NFL that I would want to scrap with. He’s lucky he came out of that with only his wrist injured. He easily could have ended up with a broken face.
Haha its ok chiefs fans u can still bash us raider fans for DHB(who by all accounts has looked solid in camp) but u better look out for our 4th rounder a kid by the name denarius moore he’s blowin $h!t up in camp. Don’t bother writing his name down the entire Nfl will know who he is by years end.
I hope Baldwin wasn’t a wasted pick, but this incident ain’t good.
Put him on the NFI list. Tell him you will see him in October. Enjoy the no money, and no health care for that time period.
Uggg. The jury is still out on Pioli. Mostly because the jury is still out on Haley. Using their first pick on Baldwin seems to be another questionable move.
I thought he only drafted “character guys”.
Like others have said. Based on what I know about Thomas Jones I’ll take side, unless he fighting Tony Richardson which would never happen.
Is there some kind of mythbuster type scientific test to see why WRs tend to be “me me me” type divas, while RBs tend to be humble “team first” type dudes?
As a Chiefs fan, I hated the pick when they made it. He reminded me WAY too much of Reggie Williams. Sorry Jaguar fans, didn’t mean to make you cringe. All the physical tools, but a knucklehead.
You have to be an idiot to want to fight Thomas Jones. That’s a man’s man. From all indications, Jones was at practice without a scratch on him. I think I know how that fight went down.
The past 2 drafts are becoming alarming. We passed on Terrance Cody TWICE to take Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas, then go sign the guy who lost his job to Cody because it’s such a pressing need for us. Not to mention we took McCluster and then Aerelious Benn goes 2 picks later….sheesh. Tyson Jackson is a bust, which makes Pioli’s entire 1st draft a joke besides a freaking kicker.
Ask yourself this, Chiefs fans. Who are the best players on this team? Jamaal Charles, Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson, Brandon Flowers, Brandon Albert, Glenn Dorsey, Dwayne Bowe. What do they all have in common? They were all drafted by Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards. That rebuild was working, and I for one am terrified we pulled the plug too early. Yeah, Pioli drafted Eric Berry, but a monkey could have made that pick.
Am I misguided to be scared to death what this team is going to look like in 3 years?
First I wouldn’t be shocked if the guy who started the fight was T. Jones (not that I have a problem with hi doing it) he does have a history of getting into “scuffles” with lazy players.
Baldwin still has all the talent in the world to a be a jump ball type guy and good possession WR. Its up to him now that hes been humbled a little bit which way he wants to go. It is also up to his coaches and teammates to help him mature as a man and a player. When a guy is a first round bust it almost always is the fault of everyone involved, not just the player.
That all being said i would not have drafted this player. I think teams in the NFL are so obsessed with these really tall WR’s that they are taking Tall over skill. A guy like Austin Pettis goes in what the 3-4 round because he’s 6’2 and a guy like baldwin who wasn’t as productive and is just not as skilled goes in round 1 because he is 6’5.
If the Chiefs can get the kids head right, even if all he does is run slants and go’s he will still be tough to cover considering Bowe will get the best corner on every team. And with those two
WR and Breston and the young TE the passing game in KC could look pretty good. Not to mention you have to put 8 in the box anytime Charles is on the field, I know i will get some heat for this but i think Charles may be faster and has better moves than C. Johnson on the football field.
Don’t mess with the Jones. This is why Haley puts him ahead of Charles on the RB depth chart.
Is this guy “LJ Junior”?
Steve Smith meet Jonathan Baldwin.
I would not fight Thomas Jones.
I would scan the horizon for Brodie Croyle before stepping up to Jones.