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Former Houston Texans WR Jacoby Jones dies at age 40

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One of the most colorful characters and prolific special teams players in Houston Texans history passed away over the weekend. Jacoby Jones reportedly died in his sleep at his New Orleans home at the age of 40, far too young for a man who lived his life with a youthful spirit up until the day he passed away.

A native of New Orleans, Jones was selected by the Texans in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft while still at small Lane College. Originally slated to attend Southeast Louisiana on a track scholarship, Jones ultimately decided to attend Lane College to play football. Jones was a late bloomer in high school. He once told me in an interview that in high school he was “150 pounds, soaking wet, with bricks in his pockets.” In other words, he was NOT a big guy.

Eventually, things changed and he grew to the size of a prototypical NFL receiver: 6’4″ and 210 pounds. Jones played the first five years of his career with the Texans, before spending three years with the Baltimore Ravens, where he was an integral part of the Ravens’ 2012 Super Bowl-winning team.

Jones has found his calling in coaching lately. For the past two seasons, he has been the wide receivers coach at Alabama State, and most recently, Jones accepted the head coaching position for the Beaumont Renegades, an indoor football franchise set to begin play in 2025.

Here are some deeper thoughts on the sad passing of Jacoby Jones:

Wow, his teammates loved him
You won’t find a single Houston Texans player from 2007-2011, and beyond, who will say anything remotely resembling a bad word about Jacoby Jones. Here are a few examples below, from JJ Watt and Arian Foster:

The way Jones’ career ended in Houston was unfortunate
During his five seasons with the Houston Texans, Jones was one of the hardest players to root for, not because he was particularly likeable, but because his play was so inconsistent. He could easily break up a 100-yard kickoff for a touchdown, just as he could inexplicably drop an easy pass on third down to stall an offense. Still, Jones was a positive player for the Texans, given his record-breaking performance in the return game. However, it was an inexcusable botched punt early in the 2011 playoff loss to the Ravens, where he nearly gave up an early touchdown, that spelled Jones’ end in Houston. The Texans lost that game 20-13, and Jones was cut after the season.

But wow, he bounced back in Baltimore
Ironically, Jones ended up signing with the same Ravens team that he made his big mistake against as a Texan. Things went much better for Jones in Baltimore than they did toward the end of his career in Houston. In the 2012 playoffs, Jones caught a crucial touchdown in a divisional round loss to the Denver Broncos, and in that year’s Super Bowl, he became the first player to return a kickoff for a touchdown and catch a touchdown pass in the same game. It was nice to see Jones enjoying his moment in the spotlight after being cut from Houston.

No, he really, REALLY bounced back.
Jones didn’t just bounce back. He became an overnight national sensation, appearing on The Jimmy Kimmel Show:

And finished third on Dancing with the stars:

Jacoby Jones was one of a kind and he will be missed. RIP, Jacoby Jones.

Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergaston Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.

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