Background and career
Jacoby Rashi'd Jones (July 11, 1984 – July 14, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). Selected in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Houston Texans, Jones also played with the Baltimore Ravens, San Diego Chargers, and Pittsburgh Steelers before playing with the Monterrey Steel of the National Arena League in 2017. Jones played college football for the Lane College Dragons before playing for the Texans from 2007 to 2011. Jones then played for the Ravens from 2012 to 2014, and was selected for the Pro Bowl in 2012. He was known for two of the most memorable plays in the 2012 NFL playoffs as a member of the Ravens: catching a 70-yard game-tying touchdown pass in the final seconds of regulation in the AFC Divisional playoff game against the Denver Broncos, which helped lead the Ravens to an eventual 38–35 double overtime victory; and a 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLVII against the San Francisco 49ers, the longest play in Super Bowl history, and tied for the longest kickoff return in NFL history at the time At the time of his death he was the wide receivers coach at Alabama State University.
Jones lived in New Orleans East. Jones attended St. Augustine High School and Marion Abramson High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. As a second-year student (junior) at St. Augustine he learned that the school considered him too small to play on the football team. Allen Woods, his godfather and the assistant principal of Abramson, advised him to transfer to that school. His childhood house and high school were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Jones originally enrolled on a track scholarship at Southeastern Louisiana University in 2002, but transferred to the Division II school Lane College in 2003. At Lane College, Jones became a four-time All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) selection. Jones was a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. In 2024, he was inducted to the SIAC Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
Jones was drafted by the Houston Texans in the third round (73rd overall) of the 2007 NFL draft. For his first-career touchdown, he returned a punt for a 70-yard score against Miami in week 6 of the 2008 season. Jones continued to contribute as both a receiver and a returner for the Texans. At the end of the 2009 regular season, he was named as an alternate kick returner for the AFC squad to the 2010 Pro Bowl. In the 2010 season, Jones caught five passes for 115 yards in Week 16 at Denver, recording his first 100-yard game in the NFL. On January 15, 2012, early in the 2011 AFC Divisional Playoff game, Jones muffed a punt, when he was rushed by Cary Williams and the ball was recovered inside the Texans 5-yard line by Jimmy Smith, in a play that contributed to the Texans' elimination by the Baltimore Ravens. Jones was subsequently released by the Texans on May 1, 2012. In his 5 seasons with Houston, he caught 127 passes for 2,733 yards and 14 touchdowns, making an impact as a return specialist, returning kickoffs and punts for four total touchdowns.
On May 8, 2012, Jones signed a two-year, $7 million deal with the Baltimore Ravens. On October 14, 2012, Jones returned a kickoff for 108 yards and a touchdown in a win against the Dallas Cowboys, tying an NFL record for longest kick return. On November 11, 2012, Jones returned a kick-off for 105 yards in the Ravens' 55–20 win over Oakland Raiders, becoming the first player to return two kicks for 105 yards or more in a season. On November 18, 2012, in a division game against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, Jones returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown, helping the Ravens win the game 13–10. It was the first time the Ravens returned a punt for a touchdown against the Steelers.
Jones was named to his first Pro Bowl as a kick returner for the AFC roster and was selected for the 2012 All-Pro team. His stellar play would continue in the playoffs. On January 12, 2013, in the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Denver Broncos, the Ravens were down 35–28 and had one last chance to tie the game. On 3rd down and 3 from the Ravens own 30-yard line, Jones caught a 70-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco with 31 seconds left. The play, dubbed the "Mile High Miracle", tied the game at 35 and preceded a 38–35 double overtime win for the Ravens.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
