Don Jones (safety)
 Jones with the Houston Texans | |||||||||||
| No. 20 San Francisco 49ers | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Safety | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Date of birth: | May 14, 1990 | ||||||||||
| Place of birth: | Town Creek, Alabama | ||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 191 lb (87 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Town Creek (AL) Hazlewood | ||||||||||
| College: | Arkansas State | ||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2013 / Round: 7 / Pick: 250 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2016 | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Don Jones (born May 14, 1990) is an American football strong safety for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arkansas State.
Early years
Played running back and defensive back for the Hazlewood Golden Bears in Town Creek, Alabama, coached by Aaron Goode. He starred as a guard on the basketball team, coached by Shane Childress. As a senior, Jones won the Class 1A 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters in track.
Jones ran for 1,869 yards and 22 touchdowns his senior year and had scholarship offers from 10 Division I schools. In July 2007, before his senior year, Jones was timed at 4.38 in a 40-yard dash at the Alabama-Birmingham football camp.[1]
Hazlewood High School also has produced former NFL players Antonio Langham, Kerry Goode, Chris Goode, Kalvin Pearson, Joe Manley, and Bob Penchion.
College career
He played college football for the Arkansas State Red Wolves, where he started as a running back for head coach Steve Roberts. While with the Red Wolves, Jones rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 24 attempts and had 12 catches for 146 yards and a score as a freshman in 2009.
He then transferred to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where he became a safety for head coach Steve Campbell, now head coach at the University of Central Arkansas. He then returned to Arkansas State in 2011, where he moved to defensive back and linebacker under head coach Hugh Freeze, now head coach at Ole Miss. As a senior for the Red Wolves, Jones played for Gus Malzahn, now head coach at Auburn University.
Professional career
Miami Dolphins
Jones was selected 44th in the seventh round (250th overall) by the Miami Dolphins.[2] His NFL.com draft profile grade was 50.2[3]
Don Jones made a game-changing play for the Dolphins on September 22, 2013, against the Atlanta Falcons in the Dolphins' first home game of the season. Covering a punt on special teams, Jones forced a fumble when he hit punt returner Harry Douglas with 1:48 left in the third quarter. The Dolphins, trailing at the time 20-13, recovered the loose ball and scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive and went on to win 27-23. The victory improved the Dolphins' record to 3-0. He played on the special teams in all 16 regular-season games for the Dolphins, who finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs. On December 24, 2013, Jones was named to the Professional Football Writers Association's All-Rookie Team as the kick gunner on special teams.
On Twitter, Jones wrote "Horrible" and "OMG" shortly after the drafting of Michael Sam by the St. Louis Rams and was promptly fined by the Dolphins and suspended from team activities. He was required to undergo educational training before he can return to the team.[4] Jones was reinstated on May 19, 2014 after completing the training.[5]
Jones was waived by the Dolphins on August 31, 2014.
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots claimed Jones off waivers on September 1, 2014. He was cut on Thanksgiving (November 27).[6]
Second stint with the Miami Dolphins
Jones signed with the Miami Dolphins on November 28, 2014.[7]
New Orleans Saints
Jones was signed to the New Orleans Saints practice squad on September 7, 2015, and was promoted to the active roster five days later. After appearing in five games on special teams, he was waived on October 13.[8]
Cleveland Browns
Jones was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns on October 14, 2015.[9]
On March 17, 2016, Jones signed a one-year contract with the Cleveland Browns worth $1,671,000.[10][11] He was released on October 4, 2016.[12]
Houston Texans
On October 19, 2016, Jones was signed by the Houston Texans.[13]
San Francisco 49ers
On March 10, 2017, Jones signed a two-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers.[14]
References
- ↑ "Aiming for blue postseason". The Decatur Daily. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
- ↑ "DB Don Jones of Arkansas State drafted by Dolphins". Miami Herald. April 27, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ↑ "Don Jones Draft Profile". National Football League. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ↑ Walker, James (May 12, 2014). "Don Jones apologizes for tweet". ESPN.com.
- ↑ Hanzus, Dan (May 19, 2014). "Report: Don Jones reinstated after Michael Sam tweets". NFL.com.
- ↑ Alper, Josh (November 28, 2014). "Patriots release Don Jones". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
- ↑ Wilkening, Mike. "Dolphins bring back Don Jones". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ↑ Woodbery, Evan (October 13, 2015). "New Orleans Saints waive DB Don Jones to make room for Joe Morgan". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
- ↑ Woodbery, Evan (October 14, 2015). "Former New Orleans Saints DB Don Jones claimed by Cleveland Browns". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
- ↑ "Browns sign DB Rahim Moore". www.clevelandbrowns.com. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
- ↑ Spotrac.com. "Don Jones". Spotrac.com. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
- ↑ "Browns sign TE Connor Hamlett to active roster". ClevelandBrowns.com.
- ↑ "Texans sign Jones, add Dunn to active roster". HoustonTexans.com. October 19, 2016.
- ↑ "49ers Sign DB Don Jones". 49ers.com. March 10, 2017.
External links
- Arkansas State bio
Media related to Don Jones at Wikimedia Commons