Matt Jones Looks For New Home

May 26, 2009 · Paul Raymond · Jump to comments

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Now that the threat of suspension is gone, former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Matt Jones is looking for a new home. After being suspended for the final three games, Jones was cut by the Jags after he spent five days in prison due to a probation violation. That same violation could of caused the league to continue his suspension.

The violation was consumption of alcohol. Jones attended a golf outing and had two beers. The problem is he was on probation for cocaine possession and one of the conditions was, no alcohol.

Luckily for Jones the NFL made a decision last week to not suspend him. That’s great news for the youngster. Jones is by far the best receiver available in free agency but the threat of suspension was of the things scaring teams away. Well, actually that’s not the only thing.

I’m sure plenty of teams are nervous about this kids character. If someone knows they’re going to jail if they have an alcoholic drink, don’t you think they wouldn’t have one? I know addiction is a pain, but when you know it could cost you your career and freedom one would think you’d do all in your powers to avoid that drink. Especially at such a stupid thing as a golf outing.

What Jones does have going for him is that he is only 26 and very talented. 2008 was a breakout year for the kid as he caught 65 balls for 761 yards. His agent, David Butz, will tell you those numbers should of been even higher too.

Butz said, “Well, he caught 65 passes in 12 games last year for the Jaguars and he was their No. 1 receiver. If he wasn’t hurt one game and didn’t have the three-game suspension, he may have caught 80 to 90 balls.”

There are two teams that jump out in my mind that should give this kid a chance. They are the Chicago Bears and New York Giants.

The Bears have a new quarterback, a very talented one in Jay Cutler. With Cutler and a solid running game they need to add a big time threat at the receiver position. Without doing so, they’ll just be an average team in the very competitive NFC. Adding Jones will give Cutler a big threat down the sidelines, in the middle of the field and most importantly in the endzone.

The Giants, well they still need to replace Plaxico Burress. They drafted a couple youngsters who could possibly do so, but you know what they’re rookies. Who knows what they’ll contribute. Jones will pretty much provide what Burress did. He’ll be the tall receiver that Eli Manning prefers and can catch almost anything thrown at him. The question here would be do the Giants replace Burress with another player who has had problems with the law.

Regardless of where he winds up, Jones is going to have to prove to the signing team he has changed the corner. And you know what I hope he does. Whenever I’ve watched the Jags he’s provided some excitement. His agent gives the usual rhetoric about wanting to prove he’s changed, but it’s time for Jones to prove it if he wants a long NFL career.

“He wants to prove himself all over again,” Butz said. “He has stated very clearly that he regrets some decisions he’s made but he’s moving forward. I mean, the Jaguars didn’t cut him after the [arrest] last summer. They saw a different guy; there was just a different reaction when he had the two beers. I see a guy who’s very hungry to make a strong contribution to a team.”

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