Andy Jones (born June 28, 1994) is 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 ...

wide receiver who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida. Located in the city's Arlington (Jacksonville), Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College u ...

Early years

Jones attended East Ridge High School, where he played as a wide receiver and became a starter until his senior season. After graduation he enrolled at

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

, which was a part of the non-athletic-scholarship

Pioneer Football League The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a football-only conference. It has member s ...

. He became a starter as a sophomore, registering 31 receptions (third on the team) for 457 yards (14.7-yard average per catch) and 2

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s in 11 games (8 starts). The next year, he had 46 receptions (tied for the team lead) for 684 yards (led the team) and 7

s. As a senior, he led the team with 60 receptions for 890 yards and 8

s. He finished his college career with 144 receptions for 2,120 yards and 17

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

On May 6,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, Jones was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

, after a strong showing at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

's Pro Day. Taking advantage that

Dez Bryant Desmond Demond Bryant (born November 4, 1988) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma State, where he earned All-American honors in 2008. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fir ...

was still recuperating from previous injuries, he was able to use the extra practice time to have some notable performances in

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

. Unfortunately, he couldn't translate that production into the preseason games and was waived on September 3, 2016 and was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

the next day. After spending his entire rookie season on the practice squad, Jones signed a reserve/future contract with the Cowboys on January 17,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

. In training camp in 2017, Jones was passed on the depth chart by rookie wide receiver Noah Brown and was waived on September 2, 2017.

Houston Texans

On September 3,

, Jones was claimed off waivers by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

, who had scouted him when they were forced by the aftermath of

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest t ...

to spend three days practicing in the

' facilities. The Texans acquired him to improve their depth, after having only four receivers on the roster and knowing that

Will Fuller William Vincent Fuller V (born April 16, 1994) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame. High school ca ...

was going to miss 3 games while recovering from a broken collarbone. He appeared in his first NFL career game against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

. He was waived on September 13 and later re-signed to the active roster on September 18. He was passed on the depth chart by rookie Chris Thompson and was released on September 27, 2017.

Detroit Lions

On September 30, 2017, Jones was signed to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 19, 2017. On September 1, 2018, Jones was placed on the

physically unable to perform Physically unable to perform (PUP) is a roster designation used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who suffered injuries during football-related activities prior to the start of training camp. Players on the PUP list may participate ...

list to start the season. He was activated off PUP on November 3, 2018, but was waived two days later and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 17, 2018. He made his first career NFL reception on November 22 during the Thanksgiving day game against the Chicago Bears. He got his first touchdown reception on December 16 against the Bills. On August 31, 2019, Jones was waived/injured by the Lions and placed on injured reserve. He was waived from injured reserve with an injury settlement on September 2.

Miami Dolphins

On September 25, 2019, Jones was signed to 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 ...

practice squad. He was released on November 1. On November 20, 2019, Jones was re-signed to their practice squad. He signed a

futures contract In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called a futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset ...

with the team on December 31, 2019. On April 18, 2020, Jones was waived by the Dolphins. Jones re-signed with the Dolphins on August 31, 2020. He was waived again on September 5, 2020.

San Francisco 49ers

On June 1, 2021, Jones signed with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. On July 27, Jones was waived by San Francisco.

New York Giants

On August 4, 2021, Jones signed with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, but was waived four days later.

References

External links

Houston Texans bio

Jacksonville Dolphins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Andy 1994 births Living people People from Clermont, Florida Players of American football from Florida Sportspeople from Lake County, Florida American football wide receivers Jacksonville Dolphins football players Dallas Cowboys players Houston Texans players Detroit Lions players Miami Dolphins players San Francisco 49ers players New York Giants players