According to Houston Fox Sports news reporter, Mark Berman, the Houston Texans have released wide receiver Jacoby Jones. Early words are that the Texans tried to trade Jones, but had no takers. With the move, the Texans will save $2.5 million in cap space heading into the 2012 season.
Jones has been highly criticized for his lack of production since coming to Houston in 2007 and after signing a new contract in 2011 with a three-year deal worth $10.5 million, $3 million of that being guaranteed. With 127 career receptions, Jones just never took off for the Texans and could not replace Kevin Walter’s place in the lineup. Coming from Lane College, Jones was expected to develop into a potential #2 target for the Texans, but that never materialized. With only 11 receiving touchdowns to his credit, he really took heat when he muffed a punt in the 2011 AFC divisional round against the Baltimore Ravens that set them up for an early score. Texans fans have not let that moment go and single it out as the big turning point of that game.
This release comes off the heels after general manager Rick Smith said Jones was still a part of the team moving forward. Well, forward was not that far. After drafting DeVier Posey and Keshawn Mitchell, it seemed to be the writing on the wall for Jones. Throw in undrafted rookies Dwight Jones, Jerrell Jackson and Mario Louis, it was apparent what the team was up to. As of right now, heading into camp with the rookies is Lestar Jean and Jeff Maehl competing for spots on the Texans roster.
| Season | Team | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | |||||||||||
| G | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FUM | Lost | ||
| 2011 | Houston Texans | 16 | 10 | 31 | 512 | 16.5 | 80T | 2 | 4 | 17 | 4.3 | 15 | 0 | – | – |
| 2010 | Houston Texans | 15 | 7 | 51 | 562 | 11.0 | 47 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | Houston Texans | 14 | 1 | 27 | 437 | 16.2 | 45 | 6 | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2008 | Houston Texans | 16 | 0 | 3 | 81 | 27.0 | 45 | 0 | 1 | -5 | -5.0 | -5 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2007 | Houston Texans | 14 | 3 | 15 | 149 | 9.9 | 26 | 0 | 3 | -1 | -0.3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 127 | 1,741 | 13.7 | 80 | 11 | 13 | 40 | 3.1 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 3 | |||
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You can follow Patrick on Twitter. He is the Editor of State of the Texans and is a draft analyst on Sideline Scouting