Jon Gaines II

Jon Gaines II (born May 24, 1999) is an American professional American football center for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins.

Early life Gaines was born in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He attended Marquette University High School, and participated in football and track and field. Playing tackle in football, he team captain, a Wisconsin Football Coaches Association All-State honorable mention in 2017 and was ranked the tenth-best player in the state as a three-star recruit. The 128th-best ranked tackle nationally, Gaines chose to commit to UCLA over offers from Northern Illinois, California, Iowa and Purdue. He helped block for 1,000-yard rusher Joshua Kelley that season and contributed to the team's streak of five consecutive 200-yard rushing games, the first time they had accomplished this in over 40 years. He was an honorable mention all-conference choice and announced after the year that he was foregoing his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft and play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. He finished his stint at UCLA having appeared on 2,382 snaps, and only allowed five total sacks and 52 pressures.

Gaines was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round (122nd overall) of the 2023 NFL draft. He was placed on injured reserve on August 29, 2023, ending his season.