New Eagles cornerback and licensed pilot Jonathan Jones looks to help star-studded young Birds secondary take flight
With 144 games and 5,411 defensive snaps worth of NFL experience, the 32-year-old Jones will help mentor a talented young secondary group.
Ten-year NFL veteran Jonathan Jones has long possessed a unique perspective on Philadelphia, but that vantage point became even more special on Wednesday.
That morning, the 32-year-old defensive back traveled from Charlotte to Philadelphia International Airport so he could sign his one-year contract with the Eagles. Jones, a licensed pilot, flew his TBM airplane himself to his latest NFL destination.
“It’s kind of nice to have the approach over the Delaware River,” Jones said on Wednesday afternoon. “It was kind of a nice touch for the morning.”
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Jones can see the beauty in Philadelphia — despite a career playing exclusively for rivals in the New England Patriots (2016-24) and the Washington Commanders (2025).
There were some ugly moments, too. He had to suffer through the pain of being on injured reserve during Super Bowl LII in 2018, then scootering across the U.S. Bank Stadium field as green confetti fell on his head after its conclusion.
Still, Jones is a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Patriots who ought to be familiar with championship culture. When he became a free agent earlier this month, he was attracted to the Eagles’ reputation as a perennial playoff contender.
“Just winning,” Jones said. “You watch week-in and week-out, finding ways to win. Like every program, dealing with adversity, but just finding ways to win and still stay relevant. I think that’s so hard in this league. Have great players. Every team has good players, but just finding that chemistry in the team to still be relevant, make the playoffs.”
The 5-foot-9, 185-pound cornerback now has the opportunity to build that chemistry in a veteran depth role with the team. Ahead of whatever additions might come via the draft, the Eagles are already set with their starting trio of young cornerbacks in Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Riq Woolen.
Jones can slot into any position in relief. He primarily played nickel cornerback early in his career (2017-21), then shifted mostly to the outside thereafter. Jones even has experience playing some safety, most notably in the Patriots’ Super Bowl LIII win over the Los Angeles Rams at the end of the 2018 season.
“That’s kind of been my role in my career, just be available,” Jones said. “Be a football player. I just enjoy playing football. Try to get in, learn the defense, and be available at whatever position they need me to play. It’s kind of been what I’ve done my entire career.”
No one on the Eagles staff understands Jones’ versatility and availability better than Mike Pellegrino, the team’s new secondary coach. He spent nine seasons with Jones in New England, first as a coaching assistant and then as his cornerbacks coach. Pellegrino was not retained under Mike Vrabel, so he spent last season as the Buffalo Bills’ nickels coach.
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While Jones is new to Vic Fangio’s defensive scheme, he will have a familiar teacher in Pellegrino.
“Mike, we spent a lot of time in New England,” Jones said. “He is very, very energetic, hardworking. Just one of those guys that will be in early and leave late. As a coach, he always tries to get guys as prepared as they can. That’s one thing that I admire about him, just how hardworking he is as a coach to make sure the guys have everything that they need.”
Even if he isn’t serving in a starting role, Jones has the potential to make an impact on a young corps of Eagles cornerbacks headlined by All-Pros Mitchell and DeJean.
Jones, an undrafted free agent out of Auburn in 2016, doesn’t have the draft pedigree that the third-year Eagles stars possess, but he has 144 NFL games and 5,411 defensive snaps of experience. He is poised to join the list of veteran cornerbacks, such as Darius Slay and Adoree’ Jackson, whom Mitchell and DeJean have already benefited from early in their careers.
“They’re some really, really good young players that have already established themselves in this league, made a lot of plays,” Jones said. “I think I can try to come help [them], give them a different perspective and some of the things I’ve seen over the years, and just try to be of help to those guys, and try to help them build in their careers, because they have promising futures.”
Jones aims to make an impact on those futures. He touched down in Philadelphia for his 11th NFL season on Wednesday, but his fuel tank isn’t empty just yet.
“As you get older, I can remember being the younger guy in the room, full of veterans, Devin McCourty and those guys, and just trying to compete with them,” Jones said. “And so now being the older guy in the room, just still having that joy of the game, coming out, competing in practice and games, and just still having that childhood joy of playing football is definitely what keeps you going.”