Josh Jones (safety)

Josh Jones (born September 20, 1994) is an American football safety for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at NC State.

Josh Jones
Jones in the 2017 NFL preseason
No. 29 – Jacksonville Jaguars
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1994-09-20) September 20, 1994
Chicago, Illinois
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:Southfield
(Southfield, Michigan), Walled Lake Western
(Walled Lake, Michigan)
College:NC State
NFL Draft:2017 / Round: 2 / Pick: 61
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2020
Total tackles:211
Sacks:3.0
Interceptions:2
Pass deflections:8
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Jones attended Southfield High School in Southfield, Michigan for his freshman and sophomore years and then spent 11th and 12th grade at Walled Lake Western High School in Walled Lake, Michigan. He played defensive back and running back. He committed to NC State University to play college football.[1] [2]

College career

Jones played at NC State from 2013 to 2016. After redshirting in 2013, Jones saw his first action in 2014 and had 56 tackles and four interceptions. As a sophomore, he had 64 tackles and one interception.[3] As a junior, he led the team with 109 tackles and three interceptions.[4][5] Jones entered the 2017 NFL Draft after his junior season.[6]

Professional career

Scouts and representatives from 22 NFL teams attended North Carolina State's Pro Day to scout Jones, Matthew Dayes, Jack Tocho, and nine others. He completed the short shuttle, three-cone, and positional drills. At the NFL combine, Jones completed all the combine drills except short shuttle and three-cone. Jones attended private workouts and visits for ten different NFL teams, including the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Oakland Raiders, Washington Redskins, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans, and Minnesota Vikings.[7] NFL draft experts and analysts projected him to be a second round pick.[8] He was ranked the third best strong safety prospect available in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, the sixth best safety by ESPN, the seventh best safety by Sports Illustrated.[9]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
6 ft 1 3⁄8 in
(1.86 m)		 220 lb
(100 kg)		 32 in
(0.81 m)		 9 3⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		 4.41 s 1.58 s 2.61 s 4.40 s 7.05 s 37 1⁄2 in
(0.95 m)		 11 ft 0 in
(3.35 m)		 20 reps 17[10]
All values from NFL Combine/NC State's Pro Day[11][8]

2017

The Green Bay Packers selected Jones in the second round, 61st overall, of the 2017 NFL Draft.[12] Jones was the ninth safety drafted in 2017. On May 19, 2017, the Packers signed Jones to a four-year, $4.23 million contract that included a signing bonus of $1.21 million.[13][14]

Jones was the backup strong safety to starter Morgan Burnett throughout training camp and to begin the regular season.[15] He made his professional regular season debut in the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks and made one solo tackle during Green Bay's 17–9 victory. On September 24, 2017, Jones earned his first career start and collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (11 solo) while twice sacking Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton during a 27–24 overtime victory.[16] On December 10, 2017, Jones had one solo tackle, a season-high three pass deflections, his first career interception during a 27–21 victory against the Cleveland Browns in Week 14.[17] He finished his rookie season in with 71 combined tackles (60 solo), five pass deflections, two sacks, and one interception in 16 games and seven starts.[18]

2018

Jones entered training camp slated as the starting strong safety after the role was left vacant by the departure of Morgan Burnett during free agency. Jones saw competition for the role from Kentrell Brice.[19] Head coach Mike McCarthy named Jones the backup strong safety, behind Kentrell Brice, to begin the regular season.

Jones was inactive for the first three games (Weeks 1–3) after sustaining an ankle injury during practice.[20] On December 2, 2018, the Green Bay Packers fired head coach Mike McCarthy after they fell to a 4–7–1 record. Jones became the starting strong safety in Week 14 and held the position for the remainder of the season. In Week 16, he collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (six solo) and deflected a pass during a 44–38 win at the New York Jets.[21] He finished the season with 56 combined tackles (40 solo), two pass deflections, and one sack in 13 games and five starts.[18]

Jones was waived with a non-football illness designation on August 25, 2019.[22]

Dallas Cowboys

On October 2, 2019, Jones was signed to the Dallas Cowboys practice squad.[23] He was promoted to the active roster on November 16, 2019.[24] He was waived on December 28, 2019.[25]

Jacksonville Jaguars

On December 31, 2019, Jones was claimed off waivers by the Jacksonville Jaguars.[26]

Jones was named the Jaguars starting strong safety to begin the 2020 season. In Week 5 of the 2020 season against the Houston Texans, Jones was ejected after initiating a helmet to helmet hit on wide receiver Brandin Cooks.[27] He was placed on injured reserve on November 14, 2020, with a chest injury.[28] He was activated on December 5, 2020.[29] In Week 15 against the Baltimore Ravens, Jones recorded his first interception as a Jaguar off a pass thrown by Lamar Jackson during the 40–14 loss.[30]

NFL career statistics
Regular season statistics
SeasonTeamGamesTackles
GPGSTotalSoloAstSckInt
2017GB 1677160112.01
2018GB 1355540151.00
2019DAL 602110.00
Total 3512128101273.01
Source: NFL.com

References
  1. NC State football grabs second Metro Detroit recruit in a week with Walled Lake Western's Josh Jones
  2. "Packers.com Josh Jones Bio".
  3. ‘Humbled’ Jones hopes to get back on track for Wolfpack defense
  4. Former NC State safety Josh Jones a top-50 NFL Draft prospect
  5. Josh Jones steps up for NC State’s defense
  6. NC State’s Josh Jones to enter NFL draft
  7. "Walter Football: 2017 NFL Draft Prospect Visits/Workouts". walterfootball.com. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  8. "NFL Draft Profile: Josh Jones". NFL.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  9. Chris Burke (April 24, 2017). "2017 NFL Draft Rankings: Top Prospects by Position". si.com. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  10. "2017 NFL draft: Green Bay Packers picks". PackersNews.com. April 30, 2017. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  11. "*Josh Jones, DS #3 SS, North Carolina State". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  12. Spofford, Mike (April 28, 2017). "Packers add another defensive back late in second round". Packers.com.
  13. "Spotrac.com: Josh Jones contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  14. "Packers sign S Jones". packers.com. May 19, 2017. Archived from the original on May 22, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  15. "Ourlads.com: Green Bay Packer's depth chart: 10/01/2017". ourlads.com. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  16. "Cincinnati Bengals at Green Bay Packers - September 24th, 2017". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  17. "Green Bay Packers at Cleveland Browns - December 10th, 2017". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  18. "NFL Player stats: Josh Jones (career)". NFL.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  19. "Green Bay Packers: Kentrell Brice is ready to compete for starting safety". dairylandexpress.com. June 12, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  20. "Packers Week 1 Injury Report: Oren Burks limited, Josh Jones out of Wednesday practice". acmepackingcompany.com. September 5, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  21. "NFL Player stats: Josh Jackson (2018)". NFL.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  22. "Packers waive S Josh Jones". Packers.com. August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  23. Williams, Charean (October 2, 2019). "Cowboys promote Ventell Bryant, sign Josh Jones to practice squad". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  24. Williams, Charean (November 16, 2019). "Cowboys place Adam Redmond on IR, promote Josh Jones". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  25. "Cowboys promote CB Donovan Olumba to 53-man roster to bolster secondary". The Dallas Morning News. December 28, 2019.
  26. Crabtree, Curtis. "Jaguars claim defensive back Josh Jones off waivers from Cowboys". Pro Football Talk. December 31, 2019.
  27. "Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans - October 11th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  28. "Jaguars Make Roster Moves and Announce Updates for Tomorrow's Game". Jaguars.com. November 14, 2020.
  29. "Jaguars Make Roster Moves". Jaguars.com. December 5, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  30. "Jacksonville Jaguars at Baltimore Ravens - December 20th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
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