The National Football Post is reporting that the Jets are gauging interest in running back Thomas Jones, but the Newark Star-Ledger and New York Daily News dispute that report.

A rumor on nationalfootballpost.com that the Jets are shopping veteran running back Thomas Jones to an NFC West team is not true, according to a person with knowledge of the club’s plans. That person spoke on the condition of anonymity because he’s not authorized to speak on the matter publicly.

Jones, the defending AFC rushing champ, is unhappy with his contract and missed most of the team’s offseason workouts. He’s scheduled to earn $900,000 this season in the third year of a four-year, $20 million contract.

The Jets seem content with going into the season with Jones, Leon Washington and Shonn Greene on their depth chart and seeing who emerges from the pile. Jones doesn’t become a free agent until 2011, so it’ll be interesting to see what the Jets do after the season if Greene (who is a rookie this year) flashes some potential.

I would assume that the future of the Jets’ backfield is Washington and Greene, although the team isn’t going to part with Jones until they see Greene in live action.

One of the more interesting and underlining storylines brewing in the NFL these days is the current one between the Jets and running back Thomas Jones, who is unhappy about his contract situation and who already skipped the first two months of the team’s OTA sessions.

Jones did report to the team’s OTAs last Wednesday, although some believe that was only because the Jets promised him that they’d try to trade him this summer if he showed up. He’s set to make $1 million in 2009, but no money in the remaining two years of his contract is guaranteed and that’s why he wants a new deal.

The Jets are in a tough spot because running back Leon Washington is also peeved about his contract situation, too. The team did draft Iowa running back Shonn Greene in April, but the Jets can’t afford to lose both Jones and Washington, leaving Greene (a rookie) as their full-time back.

Personally, I don’t blame the Jets for not caving into Jones’ demands. They paid him $13 million over the last two years and really only got one season of service out of him after he rushed for only 1,119 yards on 310 carries and one touchdown in 2007. He did bounce back last year, amassing 1,312 yards on 290 carries (4.5 YPC) and 15 total TDs, but one good season is hardly worth demanding a new contract, especially considering that he turns 31 in August.

If the Jets don’t want to pay Jones, they’re probably going to have to trade him. He’s not going to play without a guaranteed contract and they still have to figure out what they’re going to do with Washington. The key might be Greene; if he proves this summer that he can handle being the team’s early down back, the Jets could make Washington happy and trade Jones. (Assuming they have a suitor for Jones, of course.)

The Jets could do far worse than a duo of Greene and Washington, assuming Greene is up for the challenge as a rookie and they meet Washington’s contract demands (whatever they may be).