Aki Jones (October 25, 1982 – October 12, 2014) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player, who played in

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

in 2005 season. He signed a 3-year contract to the Washington Redskins as an Undrafted Free Agent at the end of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...

. He also played professionally in Europe for several teams, but played in Poland

Polish American Football Association The Polish American Football Association or shortly PZFA ( pl, Stowarzyszenie Polski Związek Futbolu Amerykańskiego) is the national American football association in Poland and was founded in November 2004. The PZFA is a full member of the Int ...

and Finland

Vaahteraliiga The Vaahteraliiga (Maple League) founded in 1980 is the highest level of American football in Finland played under American Football Association of Finland. The winner of the Vaahteraliiga is the Finnish champion. The Vaahteraliiga season is playe ...

for much of his European career. Jones played a cameo role in a 2011 Polish comedy ''Wojna żeńsko-męska'' (''The Female-Male War''). Aki Jones died in car accident in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

High school

Christ the King Regional High School

Born in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Jones initially attended St. John's Prep High School in Queens, NY in 2000. While at St. John's he played only basketball due to them not having a football team. in 2001, his Sophomore year, he transferred to Christ the King Regional H.S in Middle Village, Queens so that he could have the opportunity to play football. His senior year, he received All-City and All League Honors. Jones was selected to play in CHSFL (Catholic High School Football League) All-Star game and represented New York City in the annual NYC vs Long Islan
Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge

Deerfield Academy

Jones attended

Deerfield Academy Deerfield Academy is an elite coeducational preparatory school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is one of the oldest secondary schools in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association, the Ten Schools Admissi ...

in Deerfield, Massachusetts for a post graduate year. While at Deerfield he played varsity football, basketball and track and field. In his first year of track and field Jones placed 5th in New England's Regional Meet in the discus and shot put.

College career

In 2001 Jones attended

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

in the Bronx, New York. Jones contribute on both O Line and D Line his freshman year. Jones was a starter his junior and senior year. In 2003 Jones received First-team All-Patriot League Honors. During his senior year, he received Lindy's Pre-Season 1-AA Second-team All-American and Second-team All-Patriot League Honors. Jones finished his career at Fordham with a 2002 Patriot League Championship and team leader in sacks for three consecutive years 2002, 2003, and 2004. He graduated from the

Gabelli School of Business The Gabelli School of Business is the undergraduate and graduate business school of Fordham University, a private Jesuit research university in New York City, New York. Fordham University's involvement in business started early in the 20th cen ...

in 2009.

NFL

Jones signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in April 2005. Jones spent the opening day roster on the practice squad but was elevated to active roster by week 2. Jones appeared in his first game on November 6, 2005 against the Philadelphia Eagles where he registered his first tackle. In the

2005 NFL season The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League. Regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006. The regular season also saw the first ever regular season game played outside the United ...

he played in four games which remains his only season.

European career

In March 2007, Jones moved to Poland where he worked as President/Creator of the ''Super Flag Bol'' league in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

, which is the first junior high school

flag football Flag football is a variant of American football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a Down (gridiron football), down. The sport has a ...

league in Poland. Jones was also a player for

The Crew Wrocław ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

an American football club in the

Polish American Football League The Polish American Football League or shortly PLFA ( pl, Polska Liga Futbolu Amerykańskiego) was a structured system for the American football competitions in Poland founded in 2004 by the Polish federation PZFA. In 2012, the Topliga was creat ...

. He also played for the

Warsaw Eagles The Warsaw Eagles are an American football team in Warsaw, Poland. They play in the Polish Football League. Paul Kusmierz is the owner of the team. History The team was founded in 1999 by a group of NFL enthusiasts consisting of Jędrzej Staszew ...

in Poland's top league. In 2011, he moved to Sweden and joined the Arlanda Jets, who play in the Swedish

Superserien Superserien is the highest level of American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular f ...

. In 2013, he signed with Turku Trojans who play in the

Maple League the top level in Finland. In 2013, he moved to Brazil and declared to participate in the LFA, which is the Brazilian NFL. During the summer, he joined the

Turku Trojans Turku Trojans is one of the oldest American football teams in Finland, established in 1982. Turku Trojans have played in the Maple League Vaahteraliiga (highest level) in Finland operated by American Football Association of Finland. Finnish cham ...

for the 2014 season, the Trojans were then playing in the Finnish 1st division, the second highest level league in Finland. Jones had returned from Europe prior to his death, and had taken a position as a Group Sales Account Executive with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

. He died in a car accident in October 2014.

References

External links

* (Polish
SuperFlagBol.com
* (Polish
filmweb.pl profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Aki 1982 births 2014 deaths American football defensive ends Deerfield Academy alumni Fordham Rams football players Gabelli School of Business alumni Washington Redskins players Players of American football from New York (state) Sportspeople from Queens, New York People from Jamaica, Queens American expatriate sportspeople in Poland American expatriate sportspeople in Sweden American expatriate sportspeople in Finland American expatriate sportspeople in Brazil American expatriate players of American football Road incident deaths in Florida