Defensive back and special-teams maven Jonathan Jones officially is back with the New England Patriots.
Jones signed the Patriots’ restricted free-agent tender Monday, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported. Jones confirmed the news in an Instagram post.
The tender locks up Jones for one year on a non-guaranteed $3.095 million salary. Prior to this transaction, another team could have signed Jones to an offer sheet. If that had occurred and the Patriots had elected not to match the offer sheet, the other team would have had to part with a second-round pick in exchange for the restricted free-agent cornerback.
Jones has served as a slot cornerback and key special teams contributor since joining the Patriots in 2016. He played safety in the Patriots’ Super Bowl LIII win over the Los Angeles Rams. He also played a major role in the Patriots’ AFC Championship Game win over the Kansas City Chiefs, covering speedy wideout Tyreek Hill.
Jones rejoins Stephon Gilmore, JC Jackson, Jason McCourty, Duke Dawson and Keion Crossen on the Patriots’ cornerback depth chart. He also could be in the mix at safety, joined by Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, Duron Harmon, Terrence Brooks, Nate Ebner and Obi Melifonwu.
The Patriots’ offseason workout program began Monday. The team will begin practicing next month.
