It's been a sad time for Houston Texans' faithful. One of our own, Jacoby Jones, has passed away. The news broke on July 14, that Jones, a member of the Texans for five seasons, and immediately people started posting and commenting on their bond with the former wide receiver. All-time Texans defender, J.J. Watt, spoke about what Jones meant to Watt recently.
Former coach John Harbaugh also paid his respects to the nine-year NFL pro. Jones, a Louisiana native, came up through the in-state pipeline from Marion Abramson High School to in-state Tulane. From there he'd land on the Texans as a third-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.
He'd spend his first five seasons with the Texans before being released by the club and later signing with the Baltimore Ravens. In his time with the Ravens, he'd have his highest career achievements yet. He'd reach the Pro Bowl as a return specialist in 2012, helping the Ravens win the Super Bowl that season.
After three seasons in Baltimore, he'd move on and have short stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers and then San Diego Chargers (now Los Angeles Chargers).
While his career was impressive on its own, what fans may not realize is that he's arguably one of the best wide receivers in all of Houston Texans' football history. Yes, the franchise is only 22 years old, so there's not a deep well of talent to pick from, but we still think Jones is an all-time talent when we look at his contemporaries. So much so that in our upcoming and currently unreleased Top 20 Wide Recieveres in Houston Texans history list, we have Jones at number nine.
In his tenure with the Texans, he put up 1,741 yards, and 11 receiving touchdowns. That's not all though. As a return man, a role he played well for Houston, Jones was a true Pro Bowl talent. In his career with Houston, he put up 1,820 punt return yards and 1,420 kick return yards. He scored an additional four touchdowns as a return man.
Altogether, with rushing yards included, Jones put up 5,091 total yards and 15 total touchdowns as a member of the Texans club.
Jones was just 40 years old, and will be sorely missed by all of us in the Texans fandom.