Jack Jones (American football)

Jack Jones

No. 18 – Las Vegas Raiders
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Born:	(1997-12-20) December 20, 1997 (age 26) Long Beach, California, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:	175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school:	Long Beach Polytechnic (Long Beach, California)
College:	USC (2016–2017) Moorpark CC (2018) Arizona State (2019–2021)
NFL draft:	2022  / Round: 4 / Pick: 121
Career history
New England Patriots (2022–2023) Las Vegas Raiders (2023–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
First team All-Pac-12 (2019)
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Total tackles: 67 Forced fumbles: 1 Fumble recoveries: 1 Pass deflections: 11 Interceptions: 4 Defensive touchdowns: 3
Player stats at PFR

Jackie Jones ^[1] (born December 20, 1997) is an American football cornerback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC and Moorpark College before transferring to Arizona State and was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. ^[2]

College career

Jones was ranked as a five–star and the #19 overall recruit by 247Sports.com coming out of high school. ^[3] He committed to USC on February 3, 2016, over offers from Alabama and Texas A&M on an interview with Snoop Dogg. ^[4] He became a starter for the team during his sophomore season, but was dismissed before his junior season due to academic struggles. ^[5] He transferred to Moorpark College, a junior college in California in an effort to improve his grades. ^[6] After improving his grades at Moorpark College, he committed to Arizona State as a three–star ^[7] JUCO recruit. ^[8] During his junior year for the Sun Devils, Jones played in 13 games and started in one. In the Territorial Cup against the University of Arizona, Jones recorded 2 interceptions and was subsequently named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the week. Jones finished the 2019 season with a Pac-12 All-Conference selection and a Pro Football Focus Pac-12 Honorable Mention. Jones only played in 2 games in the 2020 season as a senior and recorded 5 total tackles for the year. He returned to play for Arizona State as a graduate student in 2021 where he recorded 42 tackles including 2.5 tackles for a loss and a strip sack. Jones had 3 interceptions in 2021 with an 86-yard pick-six against Arizona on November 27. Jones received an Honorable Mention Defensive Back nomination from the Pac-12 following his 2021 season performance. ^[9]

College statistics

Season	Team	GP	Tackles			Interceptions			Fumbles
			Cmb	TfL	Sck	PD	Int	TD	FF	FR
2016	USC	13	13	0	0.0	1	0	0	0	1
2017	USC	14	40	0	0.0	7	4	0	1	1
2019	Arizona State	13	46	0	0.0	13	3	0	1	0
2020	Arizona State	2	5	0	0.0	1	0	0	0	0
2021	Arizona State	11	41	2.5	1.0	6	3	1	3	0
Total		53	145	2.5	1.0	28	10	1	5	2
Source ESPN.com

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
5 ft 10+3⁄4 in (1.80 m)	171 lb (78 kg)	30+3⁄4 in (0.78 m)	8+7⁄8 in (0.23 m)	4.51 s	1.53 s	2.60 s	4.13 s	6.90 s	35.0 in (0.89 m)	10 ft 4 in (3.15 m)	11 reps
Sources: [10] [11] [12]

New England Patriots

2022

Jones was drafted by the New England Patriots with the 121st pick in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. ^[13] On June 9, 2022, Jones officially signed his rookie deal with the Patriots. The deal involved a $746,984 signing bonus and four years totaling $3.6 million in salary. ^[14]

Jones made his first career start in the Patriots' Week 4 game against the Green Bay Packers. In the first half of the game, Jones had a forced fumble and fumble recovery as well as a pick-six off Aaron Rodgers in the 27-24 overtime loss. ^[15] Jones became just the fourth player in NFL history to return an interception thrown by Rodgers for a touchdown, joining Tanard Jackson, William Jackson III, and Jamel Dean. ^[16]

In Week 5 against the Detroit Lions, Jones recorded his second interception of the season off a throw by Jared Goff. Through the first five weeks, Jones was rated the number one cornerback in single-coverage by Pro Football Focus with a rating of 92. ^[17] He played in 13 games with two starts, recording 30 tackles, two interceptions, and six passes defended. On December 31, 2022, Jones was placed on season–ending injured reserve. ^[18]

2023

Jones entered the 2023 season as a starting cornerback, however in practice prior to Week 1, he suffered a hamstring injury. He was placed on injured reserve on September 9, 2023. ^[19] He was activated on October 21. ^[20]

The night before the Patriots Week 9 game vs the Washington Commanders, Jones missed curfew at the team hotel and was benched and played a reduced role. He also played a career-low 10 snaps vs the Indianapolis Colts the next week. ^[21] He was waived the next day on November 13, 2023. ^[22]

Las Vegas Raiders

On November 14, 2023, Jones was claimed off waivers by the Las Vegas Raiders, reuniting with former high school and college coach Antonio Pierce. ^[23] In a Week 15 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Jones snagged a one-handed interception on an errant slant pass from Chargers quarterback Easton Stick. He returned it for a touchdown, capping off Las Vegas’ scoring in a stunning 63-21 victory. Then the next week on Christmas Day, in a Week 16 victory against Kansas City Chiefs, he intercepted a Patrick Mahomes pass, returning it for his second touchdown in two weeks. Following the touchdown, in celebration, Jones offered the intercepted ball to a young Chiefs fan. Jones then snatched the ball back after the child reached out to grab it. The clip went viral, leading Jones to explain that he wasn’t trying to steal the ball from the child but instead from an adult fan standing behind the child and his parents attempting to steal it.

Personal life

On June 8, 2018, Jones was arrested at a Panda Express in Santa Paula, California, for commercial burglary. ^[24] He pled guilty to commercial burglary, a second-degree misdemeanor, and served 45 days of house arrest. ^[25]

Jones was arrested on June 16, 2023, at Boston's Logan Airport when two loaded guns were found in his carry-on baggage by Transportation Security Administration agents. Massachusetts State Police said that Jones would face multiple charges, including possession of a concealed weapon and ammunition in an airport, as well as possession of a large-capacity magazine. ^{[1] [26]} Jones entered a not guilty plea on nine separate weapons charges during his initial court hearing on June 20, 2023. He posted a $30,000 bail and was scheduled to return to court on August 18, 2023. Jones did not make any comments and would not answer questions from the media after the hearing, but his attorney, Rosemary C. Scapicchio, told the media “He had no intention of bringing any guns onto an airport that day.” The Patriots released a statement acknowledging his arrest but declined further comment. ^{[27] [28]}

On September 5, 2023, all weapons charges were dropped by the Suffolk County District Attorney when Jones agreed to serve one year of pretrial probation and 48 hours of community service. ^{[29] [30]}

References

1. Reiss, Mike (June 16, 2023). "Patriots' Jack Jones arrested at airport on weapons charges". ESPN.com . Retrieved June 17, 2023.
2. Goss, Nick (April 30, 2022). "Patriots take Arizona State CB Jack Jones in fourth round of 2022 NFL Draft". NBC Sports Boston. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
3. "2016 Top Football Recruits". 247Sports.com. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
4. Trahan, Kevin (February 3, 2016). "5-star ATH Jack Jones commits to USC via Snoop Dogg interview". SB Nation. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
5. McCollough, J. Brady (June 8, 2018). "Ex-USC football player Jack Jones arrested, charged with breaking into Panda Express at 3 a.m." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
6. Kaye, Jordan (December 23, 2019). "The people who helped Jack Jones, the Moorpark College student". ASUDevils.com. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
7. "Jack Jones Recruiting Profile". 247Sports.com. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
8. Bromberg, Nick (August 15, 2019). "Former 5-star USC CB who broke into a Panda Express transfers to Arizona State". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
9. "Jack Jones Sun Devils Profile". thesundevils.com. Arizona State University. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
10. "Jack Jones Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". nfl.com. NFL. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
11. "2022 Draft Scout Jack Jones, Arizona State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
12. "Jack Jones 2022 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
13. McKenna, Henry (April 30, 2022). "Patriots pick ASU CB Jack Jones in Round 4 of 2022 draft". Patriots Wire. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
14. Reiss, Mike (June 12, 2022). "Mac Jones' deep throws show potential for a more explosive Patriots attack". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
15. "New England Patriots at Green Bay Packers - October 2nd, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
16. Reiss, Mike (October 2, 2022). "Patriots rookie Jack Jones' first career INT is a pick-six on Aaron Rodgers". ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
17. "Patriots rookie Jack Jones owns PFF's top coverage grade among cornerbacks through five weeks". www.cbsnews.com. October 10, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
18. "Patriots Place Rookie CB Jack Jones on Injured Reserve in Flurry of Roster Moves on Saturday". patriots.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
19. "Patriots Sign RB Ty Montgomery II and QB Bailey Zappe to the 53-Man Roster; Elevate LB Calvin Munson to the Active Roster; Place DB Jack Jones on IR and List QB Matt Corral as Exempt/Left Squad". Patriots.com. September 9, 2023.
20. "Patriots Make A Series of Roster Moves". Patriots.com. October 21, 2023.
21. Cox, Zack (November 13, 2023). "Patriots Veteran Planning To Talk With Jack Jones About Bench Behavior". NESN.com. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
22. Florio, Mike (November 14, 2023). "Raiders claim Jack Jones on waivers". NBC Sports. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
23. "Raiders acquire CB Jack Jones". Raiders.com. November 14, 2023.
24. Lewsi, Alec (June 8, 2018). "Former USC starting CB Jack Jones arrested Friday". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
25. Callahan, Andrew (April 30, 2022). "Patriots fourth-round rookie CB Jack Jones addresses 2018 arrest". Boston Herald. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
26. Tanyos, Faris (June 16, 2023). "Patriots cornerback Jack Jones arrested at Logan Airport after 2 loaded guns found in carry-on luggage". CBS News . Retrieved June 17, 2023.
27. Lawson-Freeman, Callie (June 20, 2023). "Patriots CB Jack Jones pleads not guilty to nine gun charges". Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved June 21, 2023.
28. Reiss, MIke (June 20, 2023). "Patriots CB Jack Jones pleads not guilty to weapons charges". ESPN . Retrieved July 3, 2023.
29. Sullivan, Tyler (September 6, 2023). "Patriots' Jack Jones has weapons charges dropped after moving court date up and agreeing to deal". CBS Sports . Retrieved September 12, 2023.
30. Reiss, Mike (September 5, 2023). "Patriots' Jack Jones has gun charges dropped in deal with prosecutors". ESPN.com . Retrieved September 12, 2023.

External links

• Las Vegas Raiders bio
• USC Trojans bio
• Arizona State Sun Devils bio