Justin Maurice Jones (born August 28, 1996) is an American professional football nose tackle for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at NC State. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft.
.jpg) Jones with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021 | |||||||||||||
| No. 93 – Arizona Cardinals | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Nose tackle | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | August 28, 1996 Bronx, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 309 lb (140 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | South Cobb (Austell, Georgia) | ||||||||||||
| College: | NC State (2014–2017) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2018 / round: 3 / pick: 84 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Injured reserve | ||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||
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College career
editFollowing his senior season, Jones was selected to play in the 2018 Senior Bowl.[1]
Professional career
editPre-draft
editOn November 29, 2017, it was announced that Jones had accepted his invitation to play in the Senior Bowl.[2] He impressed scouts by showing his agility during Senior Bowl practices and added value to his draft stock.[3] On January 27, 2018, Jones played in the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl and was part of Denver Broncos' head coach Vance Joseph's South team that lost 45–16 to the North team, coached by Houston Texans' head coach Bill O'Brien. Jones attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed all of the combine and positional drills. On March 19, 2018, he participated at NC State's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills and the short shuttle. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Jones was projected to be a fifth or sixth round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts.[4] He was ranked as the 14th best defensive tackle prospect in the draft by Scouts Inc. and was ranked the 20th best defensive tackle by DraftScout.com.[5]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 NFL Draft Profile: Justin Jones | |
| Justin Jones' NFL Combine Workout |
| 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1.89 m) |
309 lb (140 kg) |
33+1⁄2 in (0.85 m) |
10 in (0.25 m) |
5.09 s | 1.76 s | 2.96 s | 4.71 s | 7.82 s | 29 in (0.74 m) |
8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) |
24 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[6][7] | ||||||||||||
| External videos | |
|---|---|
| Chargers draft Justin Jones 84th overall |
Los Angeles Chargers
editThe Los Angeles Chargers selected Jones in the third round (84th overall) in the 2018 NFL draft.[8] Jones was the eighth defensive tackle drafted in 2018.[9] On May 13, 2018, the Chargers signed Jones to a four-year, $3.62 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $854,140.[10][11]
On September 26, 2020, Jones was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.[12] He was activated on October 24.[13]
On October 4, 2021, Jones was placed on injured reserve.[14] He was activated on October 30.[15]
Chicago Bears
editOn March 18, 2022, Jones signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Bears.[16] On December 5, 2023, Jones was named the Bears nominee for the 2023 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award[17]
Arizona Cardinals
editOn March 14, 2024, Jones signed a three-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals.[18] In 3 games for Arizona, he logged 4 combined tackles and 1 fumble recovery. In the Cardinals' Week 3 game against the Detroit Lions, Jones suffered a torn triceps, ending his season.[19]
References
edit- ^ Friedlander, Brett (November 27, 2017). "NC State's Justin Jones selected to play in Senior Bowl". North State Journal.
- ^ Riccette, Bill (November 29, 2017). "NC State DT Justin Jones accepts Senior Bowl invite". pantherswire.usatoday.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ Lacy, Daniel (January 26, 2018). "Senior Bowl 2018: Jaylen Samuels, BJ Hill, Justin Jones Shining". 247sports.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ "Justin Jones, DS #20 DT, North Carolina State". draftscout.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ "NFL Justin Jones-ESPN". insider.espn.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ "Justin Jones Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ "2018 NFL Draft Scout Justin Jones College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
- ^ "2018 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ^ Henne, Ricky (April 27, 2018). "Bolts Add Beef Up Front; Select DT Justin Jones in Third Round". Chargers.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018.
- ^ "Spotrac.com: Justin Jones contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ Henne, Ricky (May 12, 2018). "Chargers Sign DT Justin Jones". Chargers.com. Archived from the original on May 13, 2018.
- ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Announce Roster Moves". Chargers.com. September 26, 2020.
- ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Activate Melvin Ingram III and Justin Jones". Chargers.com. October 24, 2020.
- ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Sign Forrest Merrill; Place Justin Jones and Kenneth Murray Jr. on Injured Reserve". Chargers.com. October 4, 2021.
- ^ "Chargers Activate Defensive Lineman Justin Jones". Chargers.com. October 30, 2021.
- ^ Barbieri, Alyssa (March 18, 2022). "Bears signing DT Justin Jones to 2-year deal". Bears Wire. USA Today. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
- ^ Finley, Patrick (December 5, 2023). "Justin Jones is Bears' Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Urban, Darren (March 14, 2024). "Cardinals Make Official Six Free Agent Additions". AZCardinals.com.
- ^ "Arizona Cardinals DT Justin Jones out for the season with a triceps injury". AP News. September 25, 2024. Retrieved October 30, 2024.