Green Bay Packers safety Josh Jones is skipping the start of organized team activities this week and wants to be traded, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
Jones, once a second-round pick of Ted Thompson in 2017, is now buried on the depth chart behind free agent signee Adrian Amos and first-round pick Darnell Savage, who will both be expected to start at safety in Mike Pettine’s defense.
It’s possible a role still could have existed for Jones, who has played his best football as an in-the-box safety and hybrid linebacker during his first two NFL seasons. But he now wants out of Green Bay before the start of his third year, either through trade or release, and he’s asked Packers GM Brian Gutekunst to satisfy his wishes, per Demovsky.
Jones looked like a rangy playmaker and future difference-maker while playing linebacker as a rookie, but he lost out on a starting safety job to Kentrell Brice during his second training camp and then hurt his ankle late in the summer. He hardly played early in the 2018 season while Brice, Jermaine Whitehead and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix handled all of the safety duties. A fiery competitor, Jones made public his frustrations over playing time as the Packers struggled.
“I just want to be out there more,” Jones told Brett Christopherson of the Appleton Post-Crescent. “That’s what I’m here for. You ain’t going to (draft) a player in the second round to not contribute to the team. I mean, am I right or am I wrong?”
Jones eventually made five starts late in the year but lacked consistency in coverage and as a deep safety.
Through his first two seasons, Jones produced 126 tackles, three sacks, one interception and seven pass breakups in 29 games and 12 starts.
According to Demovsky, Jones – who changed his number from 27 to 24 this offseason – reported to the start of the offseason workout program last month. He is now working out in Florida while attempting to get moved out of Green Bay.
The Packers have resisted moving Jones, but his absence from OTAs could accelerate the process. It’s unclear what the Packers could get in return for an unproven young safety, but nothing more than a late-round pick should be expected.
