Jack Jones (American football)

Jackie Jones (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.

College career
Jones was ranked as a fivestar and the #19 overall recruit by 247Sports.com coming out of high school. He committed to USC on February 3, 2016, over offers from Alabama and Texas A&M on an interview with Snoop Dogg. He became a starter for the team during his sophomore season, but was dismissed before his junior season due to academic struggles. He transferred to Moorpark College, a junior college in California in an effort to improve his grades. After improving his grades at Moorpark College, he committed to Arizona State as a threestar JUCO recruit. 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.

2022
Jones was drafted by the New England Patriots with the 121st pick in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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.

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. He was activated on October 21.

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. He was waived the next day on November 13, 2023.

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. 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. He pled guilty to commercial burglary, a second-degree misdemeanor, and served 45 days of house arrest.

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. 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.

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.