Josh Jones (born September 20, 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 ...

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 ...

for 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 ...

of 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 ...

(NFL). 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 ...

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

, and was selected by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in the second round of the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

. He has also played for 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 ...

and

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 ...

Early years

Jones attended

Southfield High School Southfield High School is a public high school located in Southfield, Michigan, United States. The school was founded in 1951. It serves grades 9-12 for the Southfield Public Schools. Notable alumni * Bill Adler (c/o 1969), writer and hip-hop ac ...

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618. As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its ...

for his freshman and sophomore years and then spent 11th and 12th grade at

Walled Lake Western High School Walled Lake Western High School (also known as "Walled Lake Western," "Western," or "WLW"), is a public high school of the Walled Lake Consolidated School District, located in Commerce Township, Michigan in Greater Detroit.< ...

Walled Lake, Michigan Walled Lake is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,999 at the 2010 census. The city is bordered by Commerce Township on the north and the city of Novi on the south. As a western suburb of Metro Detroit, ...

. He played defensive back and

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He committed to

NC State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

to play college football.

College career

Jones played at NC State from 2013 to 2016. After redshirting in 2013, Jones saw his first action in 2014 and had 56 tackles and four

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

. As a sophomore, he had 64 tackles and one interception. As a junior, he led the team with 109 tackles and three interceptions. Jones entered the

after his junior season.

Professional career

Scouts and representatives from 22 NFL teams attended North Carolina State's Pro Day to scout Jones, Matthew Dayes,

Jack Tocho Jack Zephania Tocho (born November 2, 1995) is an American football Safety (gridiron football position), safety who is a free agent. He played college football at NC State Wolfpack football, North Carolina State University, and was selected by t ...

, and nine others. He completed the short shuttle, three-cone, and positional drills. At the NFL combine, Jones completed all the combine drills except short shuttle and three-cone. Jones attended private workouts and visits for ten different NFL teams, including 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 ...

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 ...

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

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 ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

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 ...

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

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 ...

, and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. NFL draft experts and analysts projected him to be a second round pick. He was ranked the third best strong safety prospect available in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, the sixth best safety by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, the seventh best safety by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

''.

Green Bay Packers

2017

The

selected Jones in the second round, 61st overall, of the

. Jones was the ninth safety drafted in 2017. On May 19, 2017, the Packers signed Jones to a four-year, $4.23 million contract that included a signing bonus of $1.21 million. Jones was the backup strong safety to starter

Morgan Burnett Morgan Mark Burnett (born January 13, 1989) is a former American football strong safety. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He also played for the Pittsbu ...

throughout training camp and to begin the regular season. He made his professional regular season debut in the season opener against the

and made one solo tackle during Green Bay's 17–9 victory. On September 24, 2017, Jones earned his first career start and collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (11 solo) while twice sacking

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 ...

quarterback

Andy Dalton Andrew Gregory Dalton (born October 29, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Red Rifle", Dalton previously played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, and ...

during a 27–24 overtime victory. On December 10, 2017, Jones had one solo tackle, a season-high three pass deflections, his first career interception during a 27–21 victory against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

in Week 14. He finished his rookie season in with 71 combined tackles (60 solo), five pass deflections, two sacks, and one interception in 16 games and seven starts.

2018

Jones entered training camp slated as the starting strong safety after the role was left vacant by the departure of Morgan Burnett during free agency. Jones saw competition for the role from

Kentrell Brice Kentrell Montez Brice (born August 11, 1994) is an American football strong safety for the DC Defenders of the XFL. He played college football at Louisiana Tech and signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2016. He has ...

. Head coach Mike McCarthy named Jones the backup strong safety, behind Kentrell Brice, to begin the regular season. Jones was inactive for the first three games (Weeks 1–3) after sustaining an ankle injury during practice. On December 2, 2018, the Green Bay Packers fired head coach Mike McCarthy after they fell to a 4–7–1 record. Jones became the starting strong safety in Week 14 and held the position for the remainder of the season. In Week 16, he collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (six solo) and deflected a pass during a 44–38 win at the

. He finished the season with 56 combined tackles (40 solo), two pass deflections, and one sack in 13 games and five starts. Jones was waived with a non-football illness designation on August 25, 2019.

Dallas Cowboys

On October 2, 2019, Jones was signed to the

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 16, 2019. He was waived on December 28, 2019.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On December 31, 2019, Jones was claimed off waivers by the

. Jones was named the Jaguars starting strong safety to begin the 2020 season. In Week 5 of the 2020 season against the

, Jones was ejected after initiating a helmet to helmet hit on wide receiver

Brandin Cooks Brandin Tawan Cooks (born September 25, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon State, where he received consensus All-American honors, a ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on November 14, 2020, with a chest injury. He was activated on December 5, 2020. In Week 15 against the

, Jones recorded his first interception as a Jaguar off a pass thrown by

Lamar Jackson Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. (born January 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Louisville, where he won the Heisman Trophy during his soph ...

during the 40–14 loss. Jones re-signed with the Jaguars on March 29, 2021. He was released on August 31, 2021.

Indianapolis Colts

On October 20, 2021, Jones was signed to the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 1. He was waived on December 4.

Seattle Seahawks

On December 15, 2021, Jones was signed to the

practice squad. He re-signed with the team on May 3, 2022. He made the Seahawks roster as the third safety behind

Quandre Diggs Quandre Diggs (born January 22, 1993) is an American football free safety for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas, and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2015 NF ...

and

Ryan Neal Ryan Christopher Neal (born December 24, 1995) is an American football strong safety for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Southern Illinois. College career Neal played four seasons at Sou ...

. He suffered a hamstring injury in Week 13 and was placed on injured reserve on December 6, 2022.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

NC State Wolfpack football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Josh Living people 1994 births Players of American football from Michigan People from Walled Lake, Michigan Players of American football from Chicago American football safeties NC State Wolfpack football players Green Bay Packers players Dallas Cowboys players Jacksonville Jaguars players Indianapolis Colts players Seattle Seahawks players