The Las Vegas Raiders are set to enter the 2025 NFL season with one of the more suspect cornerback rooms in the league after swapping Nate Hobbs for Eric Stokes in free agency.
Las Vegas, now led by general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll, also decided to move on from cornerback Jack Jones, who played 91.3% of the team's defensive snaps in 2024.
Jones, 27, had stints at three different college programs, including USC, Moorpark College and Arizona State, before the New England Patriots selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft.
Jones spent two years in New England but was released following an arrest in the summer and a missed curfew during he season. The Raiders claimed Jones off waivers, reuniting him with his high school and college coach, Antonio Pierce.
Last year, Pro Football Focus gave Jones a 53.9 overall grade, ranking him 166th out of 222 qualified NFL cornerbacks. He also received an 80.2 pass-rush grade (10th), 58.6 run-defense grade (142nd) and 52.9 coverage (168th).
Las Vegas attempted to trade Jones this offseason, but they were unsuccessful and eventually released him. However, that was two months ago, and he's still looking for a new job.
On Sunday, NFL Trade Rumors' Logan Ulrich identified the Washington Commanders as the best landing spot for Jones before Week 1.
"Jones has shown he has a knack for big plays, but has not shown he can be relied on down-to-down or even day-to-day during the week," Ulrich wrote. "It will take a team that has some comfort level with the risk to take a swing on Jones, who is also already 27 years old. The Washington Commanders might fit the bill."
Washington's secondary coach, Jason Simmons, spent the last two seasons with the Raiders, so he should have intimate knowledge of Jones' ability, work ethic and character.
The Commanders also allowed Benjamin St-Juste to sign with the Los Angeles Chargers and replaced him with Jonathan Jones, who was Jack Jones' teammate in New England.
If Washington wants to take the next step, they need to make sure that their defense, which allowed the 11th-most points per game (24.9) but the fifth-fewest passing yards per game (197.7), continues to shut down passing attacks effectively.
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