Former Patriots cornerback Jack Jones claimed off waivers by Raiders

Jack Jones will be reuniting with his high school and college coach.

The Las Vegas Raiders claimed the ex-New England Patriots cornerback off waivers on Tuesday, as his agent, Jamal Tooson, told NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo.

Jones, 25, played under Las Vegas interim head coach Antonio Pierce while at Long Beach Polytechnic and Arizona State before being selected in the fourth round of the 2022 draft at No. 121 overall. In between came stops at USC and Moorpark Community College for the former first-team All-Pac 12 selection.

The stop in Foxborough came to a close after 17 games.

“Well, Jack’s a talented player,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said during his Tuesday press conference. “He showed that when he played for us at times. In the end, I just felt like we needed to move on, but he’s a talented player.”

Jones made two starts and intercepted two passes, returning one for a touchdown, during his rookie season with New England. He added 30 tackles to go with one forced fumble and one recovery. The promising debut ended on injured reserve and the suspended list.

To begin 2023, gun charges stemming from a June arrest at Logan Airport were dropped in September as Jones agreed to serve one year of pretrial probation and 48 hours of community service. He then missed the initial six weeks of his sophomore campaign after suffering a hamstring injury in practice.

Activated from injured reserve in October, Jones would play 121 snaps on defense through his final four appearances in a Patriots uniform. Reportedly issing team curfew on the eve of Week 9, he was sidelined for the opening three defensive series against the Washington Commanders. Just 10 downs followed in the secondary against the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt, Germany, as Shaun Wade again started across from veteran corner Jonathan Jones.

The Patriots filled the open spot on the 53-man roster by claiming running back JaMycal Hasty off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars.