Matt Jones (running back)

Matt Jones (born March 7, 1993) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football for the University of Florida, and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, and St. Louis BattleHawks.

Not to be confused with Matt Jones (wide receiver).
Matt Jones
Jones with the Washington Redskins in 2015
Free agent
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1993-03-07) March 7, 1993
Tampa, Florida
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:227 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school:Armwood (Seffner, Florida)
College:Florida
NFL Draft:2015 / Round: 3 / Pick: 95
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Rushing yards:964
Rushing average:3.9
Rushing touchdowns:6
Receptions:27
Receiving yards:377
Receiving touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Jones attended Armwood High School in Seffner, Florida, where he played high school football.[1] He helped lead Armwood to a 15-0 record and the FHSAA Class 6A Championship and #2 national ranking his senior year while rushing for 896 yards and 10 touchdowns despite missing four games and also hauling in nine catches for 197 yards and three more scores. He earned an Honorable Mention All-State honors. He also competed in track and field at Armwood.

Jones was rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and was ranked as the 15th best running back in his class.[2] He committed to the University of Florida to play college football.[3][4]

College career

Jones appeared in 12 games as a true freshman in 2012. He rushed for 275 yards on 52 carries with three touchdowns.[5][6] As a sophomore in 2013, Jones played in only five games due to a torn meniscus.[7] He finished the year with 339 yards on 79 carries with two touchdowns.[8][9] He returned from the injury for his junior season in 2014.[10] In 2014, he had 166 carries for 817 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.[11]

Jones entered the 2015 NFL Draft, after his junior season.[12][13]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 2 3⁄8 in
(1.89 m)		 231 lb
(105 kg)		 32 in
(0.81 m)		 8 5⁄8 in
(0.22 m)		 4.61 s 1.55 s 2.65 s 4.20 s 6.84 s 1⁄2 in
(0.01 m)		 9 ft 4 in
(2.84 m)		 20 reps
All values from NFL Combine and Pro Day[14]

Washington Redskins
Jones playing against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2016.

The Washington Redskins selected Jones with the 95th overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft.[15] He signed a four-year contract on May 11, 2015.[16] On September 20, 2015, against the St. Louis Rams, Jones ran 39 yards for a touchdown, which was his longest run from scrimmage.[17][18] Jones would run for a career-high 123 yards and a career-high 2 touchdowns.[19] On November 15, 2015, against the New Orleans Saints, Jones caught a pass and ran 78 yards for a touchdown, which was his 1st career receiving touchdown.[18][20] He would finish with a career-high 131 receiving yards.[21] On November 29, 2015, against the New York Giants, Jones caught a pass and ran for 45 yards.[18][22][23] He finished his rookie season with 144 carries for 490 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.[24]

He began the season cemented as the starting running back after Alfred Morris left via free agency in the 2016 offseason. Jones suffered a knee injury on October 23, 2016, during a 20-17 loss to the Detroit Lions. He was replaced by rookie Robert Kelley for the following game and officially lost his starting position after Kelley performed well in Jones' absence. The following week, he was relegated to the third-string behind Kelley and Chris Thompson.[25] He finished the 2016 season with 99 carries for 460 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.[26]

On September 2, 2017, Jones was waived by the Redskins.[27]

Indianapolis Colts

Jones was claimed off waivers by the Indianapolis Colts on September 3, 2017.[28] He was waived on September 9, 2017 and was re-signed to the practice squad.[29][30] He was promoted to the active roster on September 22, 2017.[31] He was waived by the Colts on December 2, 2017, but re-signed two days later.[32][33] He finished the 2017 season with five carries for 14 yards in five games.[34] He was waived by the Colts on May 1, 2018.[35]

Philadelphia Eagles

On May 9, 2018, Jones signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.[36] He was released on September 1, 2018.[37]

St. Louis BattleHawks

In October 2019, Jones was selected by the St. Louis BattleHawks in the 2020 XFL Draft.[38] He was named to the mid-season All-XFL team after rushing for 314 yards and a touchdown on 80 rushes, and having 25 receiving yards and a touchdown.[39] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[40]

References
  1. "Colts Q&A: Matt Jones trying to be the dad he never had". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  2. "Rivals.com". sports.yahoo.com.
  3. "Matt Jones, Florida, Armwood: Matt Jones, state's top 2012 RB of Seffner Armwood, commits to Florida".
  4. "Matt Jones' commitment to UF is a big deal - Gator Prospectus". February 17, 2011.
  5. "Matt Jones is ready for the spotlight".
  6. "Matt Jones 2012 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  7. "Florida RB Jones done after knee surgery".
  8. "Florida RB Matt Jones glad to be back on field after sickness, injury, miserable season". August 18, 2014.
  9. "Matt Jones 2013 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  10. Florida Gators’ Matt Jones ready to make up for lost time Archived December 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Matt Jones 2014 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  12. "Report: Florida RB Matt Jones intends to enter 2015 NFL Draft".
  13. "Florida RB Matt Jones reportedly will enter NFL draft; 3rd Gator to skip senior season".
  14. "*Matt Jones - Florida, RB : 2015 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". www.nfldraftscout.com.
  15. Czarda, Stephen (May 1, 2015). "Redskins Take Matt Jones In The Third Round". Redskins.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  16. "Nine Redskins Draft Picks Agree To Terms". Redskins.com. May 11, 2015. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  17. "WATCH: Matt Jones 39-Yard Touchdown". www.redskins.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  18. "Matt Jones: Game Logs at NFL.com". www.nfl.com. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  19. "Rams vs. Redskins - Box Score - September 20, 2015 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  20. "2015 Top Plays: Jones Big TD Run Against Rams". www.redskins.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  21. "Saints vs. Redskins - Box Score - November 15, 2015 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  22. "Giants vs. Redskins - Box Score - November 29, 2015 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  23. "WATCH: Kirk Cousins Finds Matt Jones For 45 yards". www.redskins.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  24. "Matt Jones 2015 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  25. Master Tesfatsion (November 17, 2016). "After losing starting job, Matt Jones is fighting to find a role in the back field". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  26. "Matt Jones 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  27. Patra, Kevin (September 2, 2017). "Redskins waive RB Matt Jones after two seasons". NFL.com. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  28. Patra, Kevin (September 3, 2017). "Colts claim former Redskins RB Matt Jones via waivers". NFL.com.
  29. Walker, Andrew (September 9, 2017). "Colts Bring Up Adam Redmond To Active Roster". Colts.com.
  30. "Roster Moves: Colts Sign Matt Jones Back To Practice Squad". Colts.com. September 12, 2017.
  31. Walker, Andrew (September 22, 2017). "Colts Elevate Running Back Matt Jones To Active Roster". Colts.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017.
  32. "Roster Moves: Colts Elevate WR K.J. Brent, C Anthony Fabiano To Active Roster". Colts.com. December 2, 2017. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017.
  33. "Roster Moves: Colts Re-Sign RB Matt Jones; Place CB Pierre Desir On IR". Colts.com. December 4, 2017. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018.
  34. "Matt Jones 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  35. "5/1: Colts Make Roster Moves". Colts.com. May 1, 2018. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018.
  36. Patra, Kevin (May 9, 2018). "Philadelphia Eagles signing veteran RB Matt Jones". NFL.com.
  37. McPherson, Chris (September 1, 2018). "Eagles Get To The 53-Player Limit". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
  38. Bender, Bill (October 21, 2019). "XFL Draft picks 2019: Complete results, rosters, players for new football league". Sporting News. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  39. "Midseason All-XFL Team". XFL.com. March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  40. Condotta, Bob (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
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