Getty New Las Vegas Raiders CB Jack Jones.
Jack Jones joined the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday, November 14 after being claimed off waivers and it hasn’t taken long for him to call out a prominent reporter from his time with the New England Patriots.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported on November 8 that Jones missed curfew at the Patriots’ hotel, which led to him not traveling with the team for their Week 10 game in Germany.
However, the cornerback called out the report in a series of November 14 X posts.
I never showed up late to the hotel lol savage made that up.. don’t believe everything 🙏🏽🙏🏽
“I never showed up late to the hotel lol savage made that up.. don’t believe everything,” Jones initially wrote.
“Mike (Reiss) wrong I seen it from savage idc who started it he followed and it’s wrong,” Jones followed up.
“Savage” in this case refers to Savage Sports, a Boston sports news account with over 36,000 followers on X, which even replied to Jones: “I didn’t report that, it was @MikeReiss. No hard feeling though. Good luck.”
Still, the Patriots weren’t interested in retaining Jones’ services and waived the 25-year-old from the roster on Monday, November 13 after a loss in Germany, dropping them to 2-8 on the season.
In two years in the NFL, Jones has struggled to stay on the field due to injuries and other issues off the field, most recently gun charges that were dropped after his June 17 arrest at Boston’s Logan Airport.
Jones has a longstanding relationship with Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce — who coached him in both high school and college — and perhaps can get the best out of the talented young cornerback.
Jack Jones Excited to Join Las Vegas Raiders
Jack Jones only spent one full season with the Patriots after being picked in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft. He played well as a rookie and looked like a potential future star. However, he has been limited to just five games in 2023 due to injury and undisclosed issues in New England.
Though his time with the Patriots was short-lived, Jones made sure to express his gratitude on X while also expressing excitement to join the Raiders.
THANK YOU PATS NATION AND PATS ORGANIZATION I APPRECIATED EVERYTHING ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE I HAD WITH THE PATS. ITS LOVE FORVER ❤️💙.. NEW CHAPTER🏴☠️.. BLESSED TO BE A RAIDER ☠️🙏🏽
Jones is from Long Beach, California, so he’ll be much closer to home playing for the Raiders.
Herm Edwards Endorses Antonio Pierce
When Jack Jones and Antonio Pierce were at Arizona State, they worked for head coach Herm Edwards. With Pierce getting a chance at being a head coach, Edwards sent a message to Raiders owner Mark Davis that he already found his long-term head coach.
“Tell Mark, he’s got the right guy,” Edwards told Silver and Black Pride in a recent interview. “Antonio is the guy for the job.”
Edwards has worked closely with Pierce in the past and is familiar with his ability as a coach. He thinks his skillset works well for being a head coach.
“He was always a smart, energetic player,” Edwards said of Pierce. “That translated to the coaching side of it.”
Edwards also had a lot of praise for Pierce’s work ethic.
“He was excellent,” Edwards said. “He is a workaholic who is constantly searching for information to get better. Now, he’s in a unique situation and handling just as I thought he would.”
The Raiders have assistant coaches on the staff with more experience who could’ve gotten the job over Pierce. Edwards believes the fact that Pierce won out over other candidates is telling, though.
“They could have hired any number of people on that staff, but Antonio was picked for a reason,” Edwards said. “He just connects with the players. He tells it like it is and the players want that. You can tell it’s a good fit and I hope he has a chance to stay for the future.”