James Jones wants to play in the NFL next season and knows where he wants to play — with his hometown San Francisco 49ers. In an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio hosts Bruce Murray and Kirk Morrison, Jones expressed his desire to stay home.
“I’m right here in San Francisco, in the Niners’ backyard,” Jones said, via CSN Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. “You know what I mean? I’d love to stay here at home and play for the Niners – don’t have to move my family or any of that stuff. My kids get to stay in school.”
Jones added that while his desire is to play with the 49ers, he’ll play anywhere.
The negative to Jones with the 49ers would be that Aaron Rodgers is not the team’s quarterback. Jones has played with the Packers for all but one of his NFL seasons, which was also one of his worst. With Rodgers and Green Bay in 2013 and 2015, he had 817 and 890 receiving yards respectively. In 2014 with the Oakland Raiders, Jones had only 666 yards.
On the positive end, he’d bring valuable experience to a group of receivers that are almost entirely unproven.
In that regard, someone like Jones would be a strong influence. He would not only provide veteran leadership and guidance to the receivers, but could also be a stabilizing force in what’s a highly uncertain quarterback situation with Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert.