You don’t get to go from being undrafted to banking $50 million in NFL career earnings without being a pretty bad dude on a football field.
That’s why the Washington Commanders went out and got veteran cornerback and 2-time Super Bowl champion Jonathan Jones on a 1-year, $5.5 million contract on March 12. It’s also why The Athletic’s Ben Standig thinks Jones might be the “Last Man Standing” in a 3-way position battle for the other outside cornerback opposite 4-time Pro Bowler Marshon Lattimore.
Jones, who will have approximately $50 million in career earnings after 2025, has experience that should see him win out over rookie Trey Amos and second-year cornerback Mike Sainristil, who might already be ready to move back to his original position as slot cornerback/nickel.
“Would defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. prefer Sainristil on the perimeter where he ended last season, or at the initially intended slot position?” Standig wrote. “Does Jones’ nine seasons of experience thrust the two-time Super Bowl champ into a starting role? Would a smooth transition for Amos, the biggest corner among the trio, and his press corner skills exceed Whitt’s expectations?
While getting Amos and Sainristil on the field might be the best for the Commanders’ future — and what the defense might look like for a long time — it might not be the best thing for the team in 2025.
JONATHAN JONES PICK SIX!!! What a catch and return for a #Patriots touchdown!
From Undrafted SEC Star to 2x Super Bowl Champ
Jones, 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, went undrafted out of Auburn in 2016 despite earning All-SEC honors and running a blazing, 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine.
He made the Patriots as an undrafted free agent and stuck around for 9 seasons. In his first 5 seasons, Jones played in all but one game and made 26 starts while racking up 6 interceptions, 30 pass deflections and 5 forced fumbles. He also was a part of 2 Super Bowl winning teams in that stretch.
Jones didn’t become a full time starter until his seventh season in 2022 and started 16 games and had career highs of 4 interceptions — including his first interception return for a touchdown — along with 69 tackles and 11 pass deflections. He’s held onto that starting role the last 3 seasons but hasn’t had an interception since 2022.
According to PFF, Jones had a 60.7 overall grade on 712 defensive snaps, ranking him 118th among 222 eligible cornerbacks.
Amos Might Have Lingering Injury Issues
While Amos has tremendous upside and potential, lingering injury issues from his college career at Ole Miss might hold up his progress — and was the reason he may have dropped to the second round.
According to reports from ESPN and The Athletic, the Commanders overlooked a major medical issue with Amos which came up before the NFL draft — something head coach Dan Quinn said the team “was comfortable with” before selecting him.
“Quinn confirmed an ESPN report that a back issue popped up for teams during Amos’ pre-draft evaluations,” The Athletic’s Ben Standig wrote on May 11. “Considered a potential first-round pick, the first-team All-SEC selection slipped to Washington at No. 61.”
Whatever Amos’ issue with his back is, it didn’t stop him from running the 40-yard dash in a blazing, 4.43 seconds at the NFL scouting combine.
