Jermaine Jones traded to Colorado Rapids, six-game suspension officially begins

The winter-long transfer saga of Jermaine Jones has finally come to an end. After months of bitter negotiating, the New England Revolution have agreed to trade the United States veteran's rights to the Colorado Rapids where he'll play the 2016 MLS season.

Jones will add some much-needed experience and talent to the Rapids' roster, but not before serving his six-match suspension for referee abuse. Him joining a team and being an active player again means that he is now guaranteed to miss the USMNT's two World Cup qualifiers in March against Guatemala. It was always believed that this would be the case, but the slimmest of chances of him playing in those matches were still left open if he had stayed a free agent and not signed with a club. The same loophole that allowed him to participate in the two January camp friendlies.

I'm back!!! Can't wait for my next challenge!

A photo posted by Jermaine Junior Jones (@jermainejunior) on Mar 4, 2016 at 4:11pm PST

If rumors are true, Jones' USMNT teammate Tim Howard will be joining him in Colorado in July from Everton. The U.S. goalkeeper has reportedly agreed to terms with the Rapids and will be heading West once the Premier League season ends and the European transfer window opens back up.

It remains to be seen just how improved the Rapids will be this season with these two high profile additions. There's no doubt that it'll infuse them with some leadership, but the talent level still isn't exactly upper-echelon on the MLS scale. These move will guarantee the two USMNT stalwarts playing time, but it'll be interesting to see if it affects their respective form levels.