Chris Jones' attempt at a Cris Collinsworth impression on the ManningCast fell flat, showing his talents are best left on the football field. Credit: ESPN’s ‘ManningCast’
By Sam Neumann on

It’s good that Chris Jones has a day job he can return to.

Because here’s a guy that made a Cris Collinsworth impression on national television, and boy, did it leave much to be desired. One of the best defensive linemen in the National Football League was one of three guests on the ManningCast for Monday Night Football, and with the game already out of hand, Jones wanted to show that perhaps he could hang with the Adam Sandlers of the world.

Jones should probably save the voices for “The Sandman” and the Collinsworth impressions to Frank Caliendo and Joey Mulinaro.

With the New York Jets down 32-13 versus the San Francisco 49ers, Jones tried his best to mimic the NBC Sunday Night Football analyst, and it made for an awkward moment on television. There weren’t as many fireworks as Peyton Manning yelling at Brandon Aiyuk or Bill Belichick’s debut being marred by technical issues; it was just plain awkward.

The onus was on Eli Manning, who, with just over four minutes to go in Week 1, mentioned that Jones was a bit of an impressionist. The former New York Giants quarterback asked Jones to give his best Cris Collinsworth impression, and Jones delivered.

Each Manning brother, wide-eyed and smiling, cackled. It wasn’t that they cracked up; it was just a small acknowledgment of Jones trying to lean into the bit and make his best Collinsworth impression. But to say it’s a work in progress would be being nice.

Even in the clip below, he had to clarify who he was trying to impersonate.

@nfl “now here’s a guy!” 😂 #chrisjones #kansascitychiefs #micdup #criscollinsworth ♬ original sound – NFL

Jones is really good at many things, but Cris Collinsworth impressions might not be one of them. If he works as tirelessly at it as he has at becoming one of the best defensive linemen in the league, then he’ll be sounding like Caliendo or Mulinaro in no time.

But you can’t expect to be good at everything, even if you’re a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.

[ManningCast]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann