Sidney Jones' Dogged Football Journey Captured in Short Film

The former UW cornerback has experienced extreme highs and lows in becoming an NFL player.

Sidney Jones IV's cleats slip through the grass in an expansive field nestled against a backdrop of lush, rolling hills, as he performs one of the many drills that make him a pro football player. 

In this scene, the former University of Washington cornerback and seven-year NFL veteran is deep in reflection as a camera takes him to the beginning of his long-winding football journey in which the idea of a potential pro career was formed back in Diamond Bar, California.

Capturing his past and present moves is Aaron Chapman, founder and director of Neuvant Studios, in a documentary short film. Jones, with his combination of major success and setbacks, is a most interesting subject. He has had great successes and setbacks. His football career currently rests in the balance as the NFL free-agent period began this week and he awaits a call from his Frisco, Texas home. 

“I have a lot of feelings and emotions and a lot of stuff going through my head this year, but I'm doing my best to try to stay calm and hopeful,” Jones shared.

It was at West Covina High School in Southern California that Jones honed his game and begin attracting national attention. He headed to the UW with a full-ride athletic scholarship and ascended through the ranks to become one of the most sought-after cornerback draft prospects across the nation. 

Foregoing his senior season with the Huskies and declaring for the draft early, he was all set to apply his athletic prowess to the elite level when his path to the NFL was derailed just a month before the selection process.

At the Washington Pro Day, Jones took a seemingly minor tumble during the final drill in front of scouts that turned out to be much worse and the mishap would occupy the headlines of a highly anticipated weekend. 

He clutched his Achilles heel, staring in bewilderment for several seconds, unable to walk before he was escorted off the field, hobbling slowly, arm-in-arm with then-Husky coach Chris Petersen. An arduous rehabilitation period would follow to repair his acutely torn Achilles back to peak condition, knocking Jones from the upper echelon of first-round draft picks. Edited into the film, footage of the injury scene is gripping.

“I was trying to stay optimistic during that time, knowing that the body does heal," Jones said. "Maybe I was looking at the situation in terms of where I was going to get drafted and what I could do moving forward.” 

Sidney Jones has played for five NFL teams, including the Cincinnati Bengals :: Albert Cesare/USA TODAY Sports

Confined to his living room, he peered at a TV screen showing the 2017 NFL Draft stage, surrounded by exuberant family and friends. He had crutches leaning against the wall, a phone in hand recording the event, his injured Achilles tendon bound by a boot and he sat there yearning to hear his name called out quickly in spite of the recent setback. 

The transformative opportunity revealed itself when Jones was selected in the second round with the 43rd overall pick by the Philadelphia Eagles. 

He would spend his rookie season prepping to overcome his injury and play a solitary game against the Cowboys toward the latter half of the season. He donned a teal Eagles jersey etched with the No. 22. His return proved promising, though the decision to come back as quickly as he did left a lasting effect. 

“I had the choice either to play or not play," Jones said. "I probably shouldn’t have because my body was not ready for it and I stressed it so much that I continued to have lingering issues all season." 

When the Philadelphia Eagles advanced all the way to Minneapolis for Super Bowl LII in 2018, Jones was forced to watch from the sidelines, as his team secured a 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots.

The following year Jones finally seemed to be making headway, appearing in nine games and starting four, when his plans were riddled once again with an injury, with a faulty hamstring sending him back into rehabilitation. 

“You put so much work in throughout your life and you feel like your body is giving out and your body is all you have in football," Jones said. "I began to feel like, 'What does this mean?' ”

It was a tumultuous period that brought uncertainty, doubts and fears that his career could be short-lived. “Mentally, it felt like everything was disintegrating so fast and that was hard to come around to,” he said.

He began to make some significant changes, getting a new trainer, leaning into his faith and continuing to cultivate his community of family and friends while navigating the territory that comes with uprooting your life instantaneously when a team decides to make a trade. 

Staying the course, Jones zipped around the country for seven seasons with five different teams, collecting sacred moments along his circuitous route to success.

His first stop was a season in Jacksonville for a fresh start. His breakthrough began with the Jaguars when he started six of nine games. 

He would find himself making a serendipitous change in scenery when the Seattle Seahawks secured his talents in an off-season trade and brought him back to his college town. He was back on familiar turf.

Sidney Jones played for the Seattle Seahawks for parts of two seasons :: Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports

Jones secured a $3.56 million contract following a 2021 season in which he was the starter for 11 of the 16 games and proved fairly productive. Yet the NFL never allows you to get comfortable long.

The Seahawks released him midway through the next season and he finished up with the Las Vegas Raiders, amid the palm trees in the desert, and then spent part of last season with the Cincinnati Bengals, in the middle of the country.

Jones met his wife of four years, Cydney, who's helped him endure the trials he's faced throughout his NFL career. A scene in the film centers on the two parents showing their adoration for the most recent addition to their family, Antonia, as light fills the room. The couple plans to welcome their second child this August while Jones continues to absorb the role of fatherhood. 

No stranger to uncertainty, Jones the former Husky football player has a tenacity that precedes him. Resolute, his legacy is carved out of an indomitable will to defy the odds. His uplifting story is captured in the accompanying Chapman short film, which shows a man chasing a dream and forever positive.

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