The Raiders welcomed a new receiver to the mix last Thursday when they made Amari Cooper their top draft choice of 2015. For another wideout, that means the end of his brief stay in Oakland. According to Scott Bair and Fallon Smith of CSNBayArea.com, James Jones has confirmed that the club is releasing him from his contract.
The addition of the Cooper was the latest change to a Raiders’ receiving corps that has undergone a bit of a facelift this offseason. While some restricted free agents, such as Rod Streater and Andre Holmes, were retained, the team also added a notable outside free agent in Michael Crabtree.
Jones, 31, signed a three-year contract with the Raiders last winter, but that $10MM deal didn’t include any guaranteed money beyond the 2014 season, so the club can get out of it without taking on any dead money. Jones had been set to earn a $2.95MM base salary in 2015, with various other cap charges taking his total hit up to $3.433MM. While Oakland didn’t need the extra cap room, cutting Jones will allow him to catch on with another team before training camp gets underway in July.
After spending seven seasons in Green Bay, Jones established a new career high in 2014 with 73 receptions in Oakland. However, he averaged just 9.1 yards per catch, significantly below his career mark, for a total of only 666 yards.