Cardale Jones

Cardale Jones (; born September 29, 1992) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he was a CFP national champion, and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft. He was also a member of the Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks of the NFL, the DC Defenders of the XFL, the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the Massachusetts Pirates of the Indoor Football League (IFL).

Early life Jones attended Ginn Academy in Cleveland, Ohio, and played football for Ted Ginn Sr. at Glenville High School. Jones led the Tarblooders to the OHSAA D-I Championship game in 2009. While at Glenville, Jones also lettered in basketball and track. Jones was ranked by Rivals.com as a three-star recruit. He committed to Ohio State University in October 2011.

College career

2012 season

Jones redshirted as a freshman and thus did not play, but nevertheless drew controversy when he posted the following on his Twitter account:

The tweet received heavy criticism and Jones was suspended for one game. The tweet was featured as an example of bad social media behavior in the "Best Practices on Social Media" section of a textbook for "The Ole Miss Experience," a freshman year class at the University of Mississippi. In March 2014, head coach Urban Meyer described Jones as a "different guy" who was "making progress in the classroom." Later, Jones provided context for the tweet:

Ultimately, on May 7, 2017, Jones graduated from Ohio State with a bachelor's degree in African-American Studies.

2013 season Jones was sparingly used during his freshman season after red-shirting the 2012 season, playing only 39 snaps, attempting one pass and rushing for 128 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

2014 season

Entering the 2014 season as a redshirt sophomore, Jones was third on the Buckeyes' depth chart, behind Braxton Miller and J. T. Barrett. Jones made his first start of his college career in the Big Ten Championship Game in place of Barrett, who had been injured the prior week versus Michigan. Jones led the #6 (AP) ranked Buckeyes squad to a 59–0 victory over the #11 ranked Wisconsin Badgers, on the eve of the NCAA football committee's inaugural playoff selection. Jones was named MVP of the game.

Jones made the second start of his college career, and the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated #1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide 42–35 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl to advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship against the Oregon Ducks. In the College Football National Championship game, he excelled once again and led the Buckeyes to a 42–20 victory over the Ducks. Jones recorded 280 all-purpose yards, scoring two touchdowns. He completed 16 of 23 attempted passes for 242 yards, with one touchdown and one interception and ran for another 38 yards and a touchdown. The day after winning the National Championship, Jones discussed his future football career. In a news conference, Jones said that while he did not officially rule out declaring for the 2015 NFL draft, he believes that he is "not ready for that level yet," partly because he has only started in 3 college football games. Jones confirmed on January 15, 2015, that he would not declare for the 2015 draft, and would stay with Ohio State for at least another year, most probably until he graduated.

2015 season

After a competition with Barrett that lasted the entire off-season, Jones was named the Buckeyes' starting quarterback immediately before game time in Ohio State's season opener at Virginia Tech. Both he and Barrett remained listed as co-starters on the depth chart headed into September 12 meeting with Hawaii. He set career highs in passing yards and completions against Maryland on September 10, 2015, with 21 completions, 291 passing yards, and two passing touchdowns. After Ohio State's final home game, he announced his intention to enter the 2016 NFL draft.

Professional career Pre-draft At the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine, Jones suffered a hamstring injury during his second 40-yard dash attempt, ending his workout prematurely.

Buffalo Bills Despite only starting 11 games in his college career, Jones was selected in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft, with the 139th overall selection, by the Buffalo Bills. On June 7, 2016, the Bills signed Jones to a rookie contract. In 2016, he was inactive for the first 15 games of the season as the third-string quarterback behind primary backup EJ Manuel and starter Tyrod Taylor.

Los Angeles Chargers On July 26, 2017, Jones was traded to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for a conditional draft pick.

On September 2, 2018, Jones was waived by the Chargers and was signed to the practice squad the next day. Jones signed a reserve/future contract with the Chargers on January 14, 2019.

On August 31, 2019, Jones was released by the Chargers.

Seattle Seahawks On September 7, 2019, Jones was signed to the Seattle Seahawks practice squad. He was released on September 18.

DC Defenders Jones was allocated to the DC Defenders of the XFL on October 15, 2019. He signed a contract with the team on November 4, 2019. In his first XFL start, Jones went 16-of-26 for 291 yards and two touchdowns and led the team in rushing, helping propel the DC Defenders to their first win. Jones led the Defenders to the XFL's first shutout, defeating the New York Guardians in Week 2 behind his 276 yards and two touchdowns in the 27–0 victory. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Edmonton Elks On May 6, 2022, it was announced that Jones had signed with the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Jones was released by the Elks on May 20, 2022.

Massachusetts Pirates On December 19, 2022, Jones signed with the Massachusetts Pirates of the Indoor Football League (IFL). On March 17, 2023, it was reported Jones had refused to report to practice for the Pirates. The Pirates announced they would be moving forward with re-signed quarterback Alejandro Bennifield. He was released on August 28.

Career statistics

Professional Year League Team Passing Rushing 2016 NFL BUF 1 0 6 11 54.5 96 8.7 0 1 46.0 1 −1 −1.0 0 2020 XFL DC 5 5 61 113 54.0 674 6.0 4 7 57.9 16 61 3.8 0 Source

College

Post-playing career On October 10, 2025, Jones signed with the Columbus Aviators, returning to the XFL's successor, the United Football League, as a community ambassador. Though league co-owner Mike Repole joked about Jones potentially reviving his playing career after three years out of professional football, Jones stated that, though he "ha(d) no idea what" his role would entail, that he hoped it would involve a say in the team's backend decision-making.

On September 1, 2026, it was announced that Jones accepted a position as the varsity quarterbacks coach at Staples High School in Westport, CT.