James DeAndre Jones (born March 31, 1984) 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 wi ...

wide receiver. He played college football at

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. With the Packers, he helped them win

Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was also a member of the Oakland Raiders. He is an NFL Network analyst.

Early years

Jones and his mother, Janet, lived in various homeless shelters. Jones then lived with his paternal grandmother during his high school years. At

Gunderson High School Henry T. Gunderson High School is a high school situated in the Blossom Valley area of San Jose, California, which first opened in the fall of 1976. It drew the majority of its initial 10th - 12th grade student body from adjacent neighborhoods th ...

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

, Jones played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, track, and football. During his senior year, Jones was his team's most valuable player as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. Jones credits his

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

football coach, Marion Larrea, with turning his life around. Larrea saw potential in Jones and treated him as part of his own family. Jones fine-tuned his skills at San Jose State under the leadership of wideout coach Keith (K-Dubb) Williams. After winning

in 2011, Jones autographed and gave his game-worn jersey to Larrea, saying he would not have achieved what he did without him.

College career

After three years at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

, Jones had a breakthrough 2006 senior season, where he caught 70 passes, good for 893 yards and 10

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 Amer ...

s. Jones capped off his senior season by catching six passes (106 yards), two for touchdowns, en route to being named the offensive MVP of the inaugural

New Mexico Bowl The New Mexico Bowl is an NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually since 2006 at University Stadium, on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Owned and operated by ESPN ...

. His accomplishments his senior year earned him second-team All-WAC honors along with an invite to the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Jones was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 3rd round of the 2007 NFL Draft. James Jones - January 15, 2012

Jones was a starter for the Packers in the first game of the 2007 season. He caught four passes for 29 total yards in a 16–13 victory over 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 play ...

. Jones scored his first professional touchdown in a week four match-up vs. the

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 expansi ...

at the

Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League' ...

. With Green Bay leading 16–9,

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 201 ...

hit Jones on a pass down the right sideline that went 33 yards for a touchdown, giving Green Bay a 23–9 lead. The Packers would end up winning the game 23–16. Jones was announced as the Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for games played on October 28–29, 2007. Jones had three

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another ...

s for 107 yards including a first-quarter 79-yard touchdown in the Packers' 19–13 win over 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 headquar ...

. Jones finished the year with 47 receptions for 676 yards and two touchdowns. Throughout the 2009 season, Jones remained third on the depth chart, behind longtime veterans

Donald Driver Donald Jerome Driver (born February 2, 1975) is a former American football wide receiver. After playing college football for Alcorn State University, Driver was picked by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He ...

and

Greg Jennings Gregory Jennings Jr. (born September 21, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Western Michigan an ...

. In 2009, Jones caught 32 passes, had 440 receiving yards, and scored 5 touchdowns. Jones added 3 receptions, 50 yards, and 1 touchdown in Green Bay's Wild Card playoff overtime loss against the Arizona Cardinals. In 2010, Jones finished the season with 50 receptions for 679 yards and 5 touchdowns. He scored 2 touchdowns in the

2010-11 NFL Playoffs 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, one in the Wild Card against the

and another in the Divisional Round against the Atlanta Falcons. The Packers would go on to win

against the Pittsburgh Steelers, with Jones catching 5 passes for 50 yards in Green Bay's 31-25 win. Jones became a free agent in 2011. During the off season, it was widely speculated that Jones would seek a higher salary with another team. However, he signed a three-year contract to remain with the Packers on July 31. In 2011, Jones accumulated 38 catches, 635 receiving yards, and scored 7 touchdowns. In 2012, Jones started all 16 regular season games for the first time in his career. He ended the season with a career-high 64 receptions, 784 receiving yards, and 14 touchdowns. His 14 touchdown receptions led the entire NFL. On October 14, 2012, Jones caught two touchdown passes for the third consecutive game against the Houston Texans, tying a franchise record established by Don Hutson in 1943. On December 16, against the Chicago Bears, Jones had 3 touchdown catches in a game for the first time in his career. He also started both of Green Bay's games in the 2012-13 NFL Playoffs. In the Packers Wild Card playoff victory against the

, Jones posted 4 receptions for 51 yards. The following week, Jones had 4 catches, 87 yards and 1 touchdown in the Packers Divisional Round playoff loss to 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 2013, after the departure of Jennings and Driver during the off season, Jones started in 14 games. With 59 receptions and 3 touchdowns, Jones had a then career high 817 receiving yards and career long 83-yard reception.

Oakland Raiders

On March 17, 2014, Jones signed a three-year deal with the Oakland Raiders. On November 20, Jones had the game-winning touchdown catch against the Kansas City Chiefs, winning the game for the Raiders, and ending their 16-game losing streak. In his single season with the Raiders he led them in catches (73) and receiving touchdowns (6). The Raiders released Jones on May 5, 2015 after the 2015 NFL Draft and the selection of

Amari Cooper Amari Cooper (born June 17, 1994) is an American football wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he was the Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's top receiv ...

along with the signing of

Michael Crabtree Michael Alex Crabtree Jr. (born September 14, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at Texas Tech, where he was a two-time unanimous All-Am ...

from the San Francisco 49ers.

New York Giants

On July 30, 2015, Jones signed a one-year deal with the New York Giants. He was released by the Giants on September 5, 2015.

Green Bay Packers (second stint)

On September 6, 2015, a day after being released by the New York Giants, Jones agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Green Bay Packers. On November 22, 2015, Jones became an Internet sensation after wearing a green hooded sweatshirt underneath his jersey during a 34-degree game against the Minnesota Vikings at

TCF Bank Stadium Huntington Bank Stadium (formerly known as TCF Bank Stadium) is an outdoor stadium located on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The stadium opened in 2009, after three years of construction. It i ...

in Minneapolis. On June 9, 2016, it was reported by multiple sources that the NFL had added a rule for its rulebook in 2016, banning players from having their hooded sweatshirts over their shoulderpads, as it blocks the nameplate of the player's jersey. This will apply as a uniform violation and did not require a vote amongst team owners. For the second year in a row, he led his team in receiving touchdowns (8), while also leading the Packers in receiving yards (890).

San Diego Chargers

Jones signed a one-year contract with the San Diego Chargers on August 2, 2016. On August 29, 2016, he was released by the Chargers.

Retirement

On September 6, 2017, Jones announced his retirement from the NFL. He became an NFL Network Analyst, and broke the news of Jordy Nelson's signing to Oakland Raiders on March 15 via Twitter.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

In 2014, after signing with the Oakland Raiders, Jones and his family moved to San Ramon, California. James Jones is married to Tamika, whom James met while they were freshmen at San Jose State. He has a charitable organization, Love Jones 4 Kids, which provides financial support to homeless shelters.

References

External links

Green Bay Packers bio New York Giants bioOakland Raiders bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, James 1984 births Living people African-American players of American football American football wide receivers Green Bay Packers players Oakland Raiders players New York Giants players People from San Ramon, California Players of American football from San Jose, California San Diego Chargers players San Jose State Spartans football players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people