The Las Vegas Raiders find themselves in the midst of a two-game winning strak under interim head coach Antonio Pierce and right in the thick of the AFC Playoff race.
They have now gone outside of the organization to find a reinforcement, claiming young cornerback Jack Jones off waivers from the New England Patriots.
Jones, 25, was waived by New England on Monday after their trip to Germany resulted in an ugly 10-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. “I felt like it was time to move on,” Patriots head coach coach Bill Belichick said before Jones was claimed by Vegas.
This stems from Jones missing curfew the night before a Week 9 game against the Washington Commanders. Apprently, Jones had several off-field issues with the Patriots before they opted to waive him.
That included the Arizona State product being charged with possessing firearms inside Boston’s Logan International Airport back in June. While charges were ultimately dropped against Jones, it was the continuation of off-field issues for Jones dating back to college.
The corner was arrested for burglary at a Panda Express back in 2018. He was also kicked out of USC for poor academics and suspended by Arizona State for violations of team conduct.
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What the Las Vegas Raiders are getting in Jack Jones
A fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Jones started two games as a rookie a season ago. He recorded 30 tackles, six passes defended and two interceptions while yielding a 64.8 QB rating in coverage.
In more limited playing time this season, Jones has struggled. He’s given up an eye-opening 81.8 completion percentage and 106.1 QB rating in five games.
Despite this, Jones has the talent to be a contributor if he’s able to get his act together off the field. The move was low-risk for a Raiders team in need of more help in the secondary.
It’s also a reunion of sorts. Pierce acted as Jones’ coach in high school at Long Beach Poly and in college at Arizona State.
Pierce replaced a fired Josh McDaniels as the Raiders’ head coach following Week 8. He’s since led the team to two consecutive wins. At 5-5, the Raiders are right in the thick of the AFC Playof race heading into Week 11. Jones could act the part of a reinforcement.