Colin Jones (born October 27, 1987) is a former

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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

. He was drafted by 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 ...

in the sixth round of the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

. 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 ...

at TCU. He went to high school in Bridgeport, Texas and graduated in 2006. He also played for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

The

selected Jones in the sixth round (190th overall) of the

. Jones was the 13th safety drafted in 2011. On July 29, 2011, the San Francisco 49ers signed Jones to a four-year, $2.13 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $100,000. Throughout training camp, Jones competed for a roster spot as a backup safety and special teams player against

Madieu Williams Madieu Mohammed Williams (born October 18, 1981) is a former American football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2 ...

, Curtis Taylor, Chris Maragos, and Anthony West. Head coach

Jim Harbaugh James Joseph Harbaugh (; born December 23, 1963) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current and 20th head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines. He played college football at Michigan from 1983 to 1986. He play ...

named Jones the third free safety on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind

Dashon Goldson Dashon Hugh Goldson (born September 18, 1984) is a former American football safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Washington, and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round o ...

and Madieu Williams. He made his professional regular season debut in the San Francisco 49ers' season-opening 33–17 victory against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

. Jones was inactive as a healthy scratch for three games (Weeks 2–4). On December 4, 2011, Jones recorded a season-high two solo tackles in the 49ers' 26–0 win against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

in Week 13. He finished his rookie season in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

with six solo tackles in 13 games and zero starts. The San Francisco 49ers finished first in the

NFC West The National Football Conference - Western Division or NFC West is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinal ...

with a 13–3 record and earned a first round bye. On January 14, 2012, Jones appeared in his first career playoff game and recorded two solo tackles during their 36–32 win against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in the NFC Wildcard Game. The following week, he made one solo tackle as the 49ers lost 20–17 to 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. ...

in the NFC Championship Game. During training camp in 2012, Jones competed for a role as a backup safety against

Trenton Robinson Trenton Robinson (born February 16, 1990) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan State University. He was also a member ...

Michael Thomas Michael or Mike Thomas may refer to: Entertainment * Michael M. Thomas (born 1936), American novelist of financial thrillers * Michael Tilson Thomas (born 1944), American conductor, pianist, and composer * Michael Thomas (actor) (1952–2019), Bri ...

, Darcel McBath, Mark LeGree, and Ben Hannula.

Carolina Panthers

On August 31, 2012, the 49ers traded Jones to the

for a seventh round pick (243rd overall) in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. Head coach

Ron Rivera Ronald Eugene Rivera (born January 7, 1962), nicknamed "Riverboat Ron", is an American football head coach for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He attended the University of California, Berkeley in the early 1980 ...

named Jones the third free safety on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind

Haruki Nakamura Haruki Robert Nakamura (born April 18, 1986) is a former American football safety who was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Cincinnati. Early life Nakamur ...

and

Sherrod Martin Jerald Sherrod Martin (born October 12, 1984) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Troy. Martin has also played for the Jacksonville ...

. Jones was inactive during the Panthers' Week 3 loss to the

due to an injury. In Week 8, Jones collected a season-high two solo tackles during a 23-22 loss at the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. Jones finished the season with 14 combined tackles (ten solo) in 15 games and zero starts. His first two years with the team his role was exclusively special teams, but started playing nickel corner and backup free safety in 2014. On June 18, 2014, Jones signed a two-year contract extension with the Panthers. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, Jones recorded his first career interception in the Week 7 win against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

quarterback

Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings. He was also a member of the P ...

. On February 7, 2016, Jones was part of the Panthers team that played in

Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) cha ...

. In the game, the Panthers fell to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

by a score of 24–10. On March 7, 2017, Jones signed a two-year contract extension with the Panthers. On March 11, 2019, Jones signed a two-year contract extension with the Panthers. The Panthers released Jones on March 16, 2020.

Personal life

Jones married Briana Lewis on February 18, 2012. They have one son. Jones is a practicing

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and a member of the Board of Directors of the Christian Outdoor Alliance. He attends Myers Park Methodist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.

References

External links

TCU Horned Frogs bio

Carolina Panthers bio

ESPN profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Colin 1987 births Living people American football safeties TCU Horned Frogs football players San Francisco 49ers players Carolina Panthers players Players of American football from Texas People from Bridgeport, Texas