Christion Jones
Christion Jones (born December 20, 1992) is a former Canadian football kick returner and running back. Jones played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Alabama.
Position: | Kick returner/Running back |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Born: | Adamsville, Alabama | December 20, 1992
Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Minor High School |
College: | Alabama |
Undrafted: | 2015 |
Career history | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
CFL status: | International |
Player stats at CFL.ca |
College career
Jones committed to Alabama on September 30, 2010.[1] Jones earned the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year award in 2013. During his four years in Alabama, Jones had 85 receptions for 1,030 yards including seven touchdowns. Jones also returned 66 punts for 719 yards including three touchdowns and returned 68 kickoffs for 1,727 yards and two touchdowns.[2]
Professional career
Miami Dolphins
Jones went undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft. Shortly after, he signed as a free agent with the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League.[3] Dealing with a hamstring issue during training camp, Jones was waived on September 5, 2015. He was released with an injury settlement on September 9. On March 2, 2016, Jones was once again signed by the Dolphins but was later released on May 2, 2016.[4]
Toronto Argonauts
On May 17, 2016, Jones signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.[5] Jones was later released on June 15, 2016.[6]
Saskatchewan Roughriders
After more than a year out of football, Jones signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League on July 17, 2017.[7] Jones made his regular season professional football debut on August 13, 2017 versus the BC Lions. He scored his first touchdown on September 29 when he returned a 97-yard punt for a touchdown against the Ottawa Redblacks.[8] He played in ten games that season, returning 45 punts for 645 yards and two touchdowns,[9] as well as 18 kickoffs for 423 yards. He made his biggest impression against the Toronto Argonauts in the 2017 CFL East Final, when he returned a 79-yard punt for a touchdown to put the Roughriders up late in the game[10] in a losing cause. Jones was named the team's Most Outstanding Special Teams Player for 2017.[11]
On December 27, 2017, Jones signed an extension with the Roughriders that would keep him on the team through the 2019 season.[12]
Edmonton Eskimos
Jones was traded to the Edmonton Eskimos on August 5, 2019 in exchange for wide receiver Kenny Stafford. Playing in 10 games, Jones caught 7 passes for 43 yards, and had a combined 1,420 return yards, and was extended for the 2020 season.[13] On June 27, 2020 on the day of Global Pride, Jones made a now deleted post expressing homophobia on Twitter, and extensively defended the original post throughout the day.[14] Jones was released by the Eskimos the next day; he apologized 8 minutes prior to his release being made public.[15] The CFL added a statement concurrent with the release of Jones, expressing support for the LGBTQ+ community.[16]
References
- "Minor DB Christion Jones commits to Alabama". AL.com. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- "Christion Jones College Stats | College Football at Sports-Reference.com". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- "Christion Jones signs as free agent with Dolphins". BamaOnLine. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- "Receiver Christion Jones again signs with Miami Dolphins". miamiherald. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- "Argos Sign Trio of Receivers – Toronto Argonauts". Toronto Argonauts. May 16, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- "Argos release veterans Chad Kackert, Adrian McPherson". CTVNews. June 15, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- "Christion Jones joins Canadian Football League team". AL.com. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- "Christion Jones Finds A Seam And Blows Past REDBLACKS for Return TD – CFL.ca". CFL.ca. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- "Christion Jones – CFL.ca". CFL.ca. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- "Argonauts win CFL East final, to face Stampeders in Grey Cup". Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- "Christion Jones nominated for CFL Special Teams Player of the Year Award". AL.com. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- "Christion Jones Signs Extension – Saskatchewan Roughriders". Saskatchewan Roughriders. December 27, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- "Esks sign Christion Jones to extension". January 27, 2020.
- "CFL team releases Christion Jones over tweet". al. June 28, 2020.
- https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-football-homophobic-tweet-1.5630546
- "Christion Jones released by Esks". June 28, 2020.