Donald Jones (born December 17, 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 ...

wide receiver who played in the

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 ...

. He was signed by the

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

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 ...

in 2010. 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 ...

Youngstown State Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges an ...

. He has also played for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Early life

Jones grew up in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

and attended Plainfield High School, where he was teammates with

Eugene Monroe Eugene Christopher Monroe (born April 18, 1987) is a former American football offensive tackle who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Selected eighth overall in the 2009 NFL draft, he spent the early years of his pro ca ...

. He attended

Lackawanna College Lackawanna College (Lackawanna or LC) is a private college in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It also has satellite centers in Hazleton, Hawley, Sunbury, Towanda, and Tunkhannock, and an Environmental Education Center in Covington Township. Acade ...

prior to transferring to

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges an ...

, where he majored in broadcasting.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Jones was signed by the

as an

following the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

. He scored his first career touchdown in week 10 of the 2010 season against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. Jones' time with the Bills came to an end as new coach

Doug Marrone Douglas Charles Marrone (born July 25, 1964) is an American football coach and former offensive lineman who is the offensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the head coach at ...

and GM

Buddy Nix Charles Kenneth "Buddy" Nix (born December 6, 1939) is a former American football coach and executive. He was the general manager of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL) from 2009 to 2013. Nix was a scout for the Bills from 199 ...

did not tender him a contract for the 2013-2014 season.

New England Patriots

Jones signed a three-year deal with the

on March 15, 2013. Jones was released by the team on July 19, 2013.

Retirement

On August 7, 2013, Jones announced on his Twitter page that due to advancements in his kidney disease he would retire from the NFL. Jones briefly played for the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

Broadcasting career

In 2016, Jones signed on to be co-host of ''The John Murphy Show'', a daily talk show on

WGR WGR (550 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Buffalo, New York. Owned by Audacy, Inc., its studios and offices are located on Corporate Parkway in Amherst, and the transmitter site—utilized by WGR and co-owned WWKB—is in Ham ...

radio and

MSG Western New York MSG Western New York (MSG WNY) is an American regional sports network that is a joint venture between MSG Entertainment and Pegula Sports and Entertainment. The channel (also on occasion credited as ''Pegula Sports Network'' or ''MSG Buffalo'') i ...

. The show is sponsored by the Buffalo Bills. He left MSG and WGR in April 2018, hoping to find work closer to his home in New Jersey, from which he had commuted throughout his two-year tenure.

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Donald 1987 births Living people Plainfield High School (New Jersey) alumni Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from Plainfield, New Jersey American football wide receivers Youngstown State Penguins football players Buffalo Bills players New England Patriots players Lackawanna Falcons football players