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Early this morning, reports surfaced that James Jones, the free agent and former Green Bay Packers wide receiver, was set to visit the San Diego Chargers on Tuesday. As APC’s Jason B. Hirschhorn discussed, the Chargers seemed to be a good fit for Jones - who led the Packers in receiving yards and tied for the lead in touchdown receptions a year ago - in large part because of a receiving corps that recently saw a veteran receiver go down to injury.
It appears that both parties wasted no time today, and Jones is indeed going to become a Charger:
The #Chargers are signing WR James Jones, source said. Another veteran weapon for Philip Rivers
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 2, 2016
He will effectively replace Stevie Johnson as the veteran option on the boundary opposite budding star Keenan Allen. San Diego also signed former Browns receiver Travis Benjamin this offseason, likely to play mostly from the slot, and they drafted Arkansas tight end Hunter Henry as well.
Given that the Packers were able to scoop up Jones for the veteran minimum salary following final cuts last season, it seems likely that he will play on a one-year, veteran minimum deal once again.
Jones returns to the West Coast after a one-year absence, as he played for the Oakland Raiders in 2014. He is a native of San Jose, also in the Bay Area, and played his college football at San Jose State. After playing his first seven seasons for the Packers, Jones posted 50 receptions for 890 yards and eight touchdowns in Green Bay last season. Coincidentally, one of Jones’ touchdowns - an eight-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers - put the Packers up 24-17 against the Chargers in week six of 2015 and proved to be the winning score in that game.