Tennessee Titans After his junior year, Jones opted to forgo his senior year and declare himself eligible for the
NFL draft. He was the first defensive player drafted, taken sixth overall by the
Tennessee Titans in the
2005 NFL draft. He missed most of training camp, holding out in a contract dispute. According to Titans then-general manager
Floyd Reese, the Titans were concerned over several off-the-field incidents. In a column for
ESPN in 2007, Reese said that contract talks broke down when Jones balked at the Titans' proposed safeguards. However, he agreed that he would not be paid any guaranteed or bonus money if he were convicted of a crime. During his rookie season, he had 44 tackles and 10 pass deflections. On special teams, Jones totaled 1,399 return yards and one touchdown. Jones and
Reynaldo Hill were the only rookie duo to start at least 10 games each at cornerback in the
NFL. In Jones' sophomore season, he totaled career-high 62 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, 12 deflected passes, four interceptions, 130 return yards, one interception touchdown, 14 passes defended (second-team), 440 punt return yards and tied for NFL-high with three punt return touchdowns. The three punt returns also tied the franchise record with
Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, which was set in 1975. His 12.9 yards per punt return average led the NFL, edging out Chicago's
Devin Hester by 1/10 of a yard, while his 26.1 yards per kick return average ranked seventh in the league and sixth in the
AFC. Jones also caught two passes on offense for 31 yards (one for 17 yards) and rushed twice for eight yards. His best performance came against the
Jacksonville Jaguars in week 15, when Jones had an 83-yard interception return for a score, a 70-yard kick return, and broke up a touchdown pass to
Matt Jones to save the game. Jones broke out in his fifth game of the season against the
Indianapolis Colts, when he recorded a season-high five tackles and defended a pass in the 14–13 loss. The next week against the
Washington Redskins, Jones recorded four tackles and stripped the ball from
Antwaan Randle El for the first forced fumble of his career. The next week against the
Houston Texans, Jones tied a career-high tackle total with eight, and picked off a
Sage Rosenfels pass for his first career interception, and also posted his second touchdown on a punt return in his career in the fourth quarter with a 53-yard return. Two weeks later, against the
Philadelphia Eagles, Jones recorded his second punt return for a score of the season, a 90-yard run, breaking Billy Johnson's 87-yard franchise record. The next week against the
New York Giants, Jones picked off an
Eli Manning pass in the fourth quarter that sparked the Titans' 21-point comeback. Against the
New England Patriots in the last game of the season, Jones totaled 259 return yards (the NFL's highest total since 2006) along with a punt return score. Despite Jones' breakout second year, speculation was rife during the
2007 NFL draft that the Titans were seriously considering releasing or trading him due to his numerous off-the-field problems. Reese later recalled that he and other Titans front-office officials, as well as league officials, had spent "countless hours" trying to keep Jones out of trouble. Reese added that Jones had been everything the Titans had hoped for on the field, he'd been "nothing but a disaster off the field" during his two years in Nashville, and felt that he was on "a downward spiral." This was the first time in 44 years that a player was suspended for an offense other than substance abuse. Jones took out a full-page ad in
The Tennessean, promising he would "win back trust" of his teammates and fans. "To my family, teammates, coaches and fans, I recognize that I have lost the right to ask for your patience and understanding," wrote Jones. "However, I will do everything in my power to regain your trust and respect." Jones also wrote in the letter that he planned to finish his degree at
West Virginia University. "The basis of the appeal ... will be to clarify some of the facts and address the unprecedented punishment that was imposed," Jones wrote in the letter. However, on June 12, Jones withdrew his appeal. During his suspension Jones signed with
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), despite an agreement between TNA and the Titans organization that he would only have a "non-physical" role in the company, and went on to win the
TNA World Tag Team Championship with
Ron Killings. He also established a record label, "National Street League Records", and performed as one half of the rap duo Posterboyz. Ten weeks into the
2007 season, Goodell decided not to reduce Jones' suspension. Following this announcement, the
NFL Players Association (NFLPA) said that it would appeal Jones' suspension. Tennessee running back
LenDale White told
The Tennessean that he thought all Titans players wanted Jones to return to the team. Quarterback
Vince Young said, "We are going to do well without him, we can do well with him...". On December 13, 2007, the NFL agreed to hear the players union's appeal on Jones' behalf. The players union appealed Goodell's decision to not allow Jones to be reinstated during the 2007 season. On February 1, 2008, ESPN reported that Goodell remained disappointed in Jones and that he would most likely not be reinstated after the
Super Bowl. The NFL was to review Jones after the
2008 Pro Bowl. It was also reported that the Titans would try to trade Jones, if reinstated. On March 8, 2008, Jones announced on a
Tennessee radio station that he was in "tip-top shape" and said he was ready to be reinstated. His agent also announced that they would consider applying for reinstatement before the
2008 NFL draft. Jones also said on the radio show that he would like to play for the
Dallas Cowboys if the Titans desired to trade him. Other teams that expressed interest in Jones were the
Detroit Lions,
Oakland Raiders,
Kansas City Chiefs,
Houston Texans and
New Orleans Saints. On March 30, Jones participated at a charity basketball event, where he signed a football for a fan with the #21, saying that he believed he would wear the number if he ended up in
Dallas with the Cowboys.
NFL Network correspondent
Adam Schefter had also described the Tennessee–Dallas trade for Jones as being "imminent". On April 1, Goodell said he would have a decision on reinstating Jones prior to training camp. However, the next day, reports said the trade was being delayed due to the Cowboys denying the Titans' request to provide a fourth-round pick and a pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. Also, the two teams disagreed over whether the Cowboys would reimburse the Titans for a bonus owed to Jones. On April 14, Schefter reported that trade talks had restarted, with the Cowboys offering a sixth-round pick and the Titans requesting a fourth-round pick in the 2008 draft.
Dallas Cowboys On April 23, 2008, Jones was traded to the
Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. As Jones was reinstated for the
2008 season, the Cowboys would give the Titans their sixth-round pick in 2009. Jones also reached a financial settlement with the Titans regarding his contract: he agreed to pay
US$500,000 to a charity chosen by the Titans in the next two years. Jones signed a four-year contract that included annual roster bonuses and was structured to protect Dallas if Jones made more off-field mistakes. On April 24,
Hall of Famer Jim Brown announced that he had offered his support and help to Jones while in Dallas. Former Cowboys players and NFL standouts
Michael Irvin and
Deion Sanders also expressed a willingness to help the troubled cornerback. Beginning in June, Jones was cleared to participate in organized team activities with the Cowboys, including training camp and preseason games. On August 26, Jones was fully reinstated for the 2008 NFL season. In the season opener for the Cowboys, a 28–10 victory against the
Cleveland Browns, Jones recorded a tackle and a pass deflection. In the following 41–37 victory against the
Philadelphia Eagles, Jones recorded four tackles and a pass deflection. In a 27–16 victory over the
Green Bay Packers, Jones led the Cowboys with eight tackles and a fumble recovery. In October 2008, Jones was suspended for at least four games for an altercation at a Dallas hotel. On November 19, 2008, Cowboys owner
Jerry Jones said the suspended cornerback would be reinstated by commissioner Roger Goodell, but he would miss two more games, November 23 and 27, and would return to play December 7 at Pittsburgh. By the time of his return, Jones would be suspended from 22 of a possible 28 games. Due to the suspension, the Titans gave their fifth-round pick to the Cowboys in 2009 and also returned the sixth-round pick to them, as stipulated in terms of the trade. On December 7, 2008, against the
Pittsburgh Steelers game, Jones suffered a neck injury, but continued to play. Later that week news reports indicated that the injury was more severe than first believed, and could be a season-ending or career-ending injury for Jones. On December 10, 2008, the Cowboys announced that Jones would probably be out for the rest of the season. However, he returned to play in the Cowboys' final game of the season, a 44–6 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. On January 7, 2009, the Cowboys announced they would release Jones. According to
ESPN's
Ed Werder, the move came after Cowboys officials learned that Jones was a suspect in a June 2007 shooting outside a strip club in
Atlanta. Jones was alleged to have ordered the shooting after a dispute with one of the men. Due to NFL rules which bar major player transactions until after the
Super Bowl, the Cowboys did not officially cut ties with Jones until February 9, 2009.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers In August 2009, Jones agreed in principle to a one-year deal to play with the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the
Canadian Football League. The CFL season, which runs from July through November, was half over at the time. However, on September 2, the Blue Bombers announced they were no longer interested in Jones after he made remarks in an internet video including calling the league the
United Football League instead of the
Canadian Football League. The startup UFL reportedly offered Jones a contract which he turned down. Jones worked out for NFL scouts on March 19 in
New Orleans, Louisiana. Six NFL teams were in attendance. At his workout, his 40-yard dash time was 4.42 seconds. On May 10, 2010, Jones signed a two-year deal with the Bengals. He went through the off-season and pre-season without incident and made the regular-season roster. He made his Bengals debut on September 12, 2010, as a kick returner and a backup cornerback. He returned two kickoffs for 37 yards and made two tackles and an assist on defense during the Bengals' 38–24 loss to the
New England Patriots. On October 26, Jones sustained a serious neck injury, and missed the remainder of the 2010 season. Jones returned to action with the Bengals on October 30, 2011, returning one punt for 63 yards. He suffered a hamstring injury and did not play for the rest of the game. On March 21, 2013, Jones signed a three-year deal to remain with the Bengals. In the final minute of the 2015 Wild Card Round against the
Pittsburgh Steelers, Jones became involved in an altercation with Steelers assistant coach
Joey Porter late in the fourth quarter and was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct following an unnecessary roughness penalty against
Vontaze Burfict. The Bengals were leading 16–15, but the back-to-back penalties drawn by Burfict and Jones moved the Steelers into field goal range and allowed them to win the game, 18–16. Jones was subsequently fined $28,940 for the altercation, which was reduced to $12,500 by the NFL after appeal. Porter would be fined $10,000 for his actions. The incident led to the creation of the "Joey Porter Rule", which prohibits assistant coaches from entering the field of play. On March 9, 2016, Jones signed a three-year deal to remain with the Bengals. Jones was suspended the first game of the 2017 season for violating the league's personal conduct policy. In Week 13, Jones suffered a groin injury while intercepting a pass by
Ben Roethlisberger. He was placed on injured reserve on December 9, 2017. On March 9, 2018, the Bengals announced they had declined the option in his contract for the 2018 season, making Jones a free agent.
Denver Broncos On August 26, 2018, Jones signed with the
Denver Broncos. He played in seven games before being released on November 20, 2018.
Retirement On May 24, 2019, Jones announced his retirement. == Professional wrestling career ==