Former NFL wide receiver Jacoby Jones dies at age of 40

Jacoby Jones (pictured at back) (Aberdeen Proving Ground, Wikimedia Commons)

According to Noah Trister of the Associated Press on Sunday, former National Football League Pro Bowl special teams returner Jacoby Jones of New Orleans, Louisiana (pictured in the back row) passed away at the age of 40. In addition to being a kick returner, he was also a wide receiver. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

Jones played nine seasons in the NFL. He was with the Houston Texans from 2007 to 2011, the Baltimore Ravens from 2012 to 2014, and the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers in 2015.

In 128 regular season games, Jones had 276 punt returns for 2688 yards and four touchdowns. He also had 183 kickoff returns for 4940 yards and five touchdowns. The year Jones was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2013, he had 37 punt returns for 341 yards and one touchdown, and 38 kickoff returns for 1167 yards and two touchdowns.

Twice Jones had a kickoff return for a touchdown of 108 yards. That is the second longest kickoff return in NFL history. The first came in a 31-29 Ravens win over the Dallas Cowboys on October 14, 2012, and the second came in a 43-23 Ravens loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on November 2, 2014. The longest kickoff in NFL history belongs to Cordarelle Patterson of Rock Hill, South Carolina, who had a kickoff return of 109 yards for the Minnesota Vikings in a 44-31 Vikings loss to the Green Bay Packers on October 27, 2013.

Super Bowl XLVII was also significant in Jones’s career. He had the longest kickoff return in Super Bowl history (108 yards) as the Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers 34-31.

As a wide receiver, Jones had 203 catches for 2733 receiving yards and 14 touchdown catches. He had a career high six touchdown catches with the Texans in 2009, and then had a career-high 51 catches and 562 receiving yards with the Texans a year later in 2010.

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