Atlanta Falcons recruit former Pitt Panthers from OL

PITTSBURGH — The former Pitt Panthers offensive lineman has played for several teams during his career and will add another, as he signed a contract with the Atlanta Falcons, according to Aaron Wilson.

Jones-Smith came to Pitt as a three-star recruit via West Catholic High School in Philadelphia, a short drive from his hometown of Camden, New Jersey. 247Sports ranked him as the No. 36 recruit in Pennsylvania and the No. 113 offensive tackle. in the class of 2013.

He redshirted as a true freshman, then played in all 13 games in 2014, starting three games at left tackle against Virginia, Syracuse and Miami.

Jones-Smith suffered a knee injury in the offseason that kept him from participating completely in the 2015 season. He returned in 2016, playing in eight games and starting a game against Villanova in the season opener.

He saw the most action during his college career in 2017, when he played in all 12 games and started nine. He also earned a selection to play in the East-West Shrine Game and finished his career at Pitt playing in 33 games and starting 13 of them.

Jones-Smith has spent time with a number of NFL teams, including the Houston Texans in 2018, Miami Dolphins in 2019, San Francisco 49ers in 2019 and 2020, Las Vegas Raiders in 2020 , the Baltimore Ravens in 2021 and the Washington Commanders in 2023.

He has only made appearances for the Raiders and Ravens, playing in three games each for the Raiders in 2020 and the Ravens in 2021.

He also played with the San Antonio Commanders in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football in 2019 and the St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL in 2023 and the United Football League in 2024.

Jones-Smith has been one of the leagues best linemen over the past two seasons, earning All-XFL team honors in 2023 and All-UFL team honors in 2024.

He will look to earn playing time in the NFL with the Falcons, showing he has more than just success at the UFL level.

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