Former Tennessee wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. is officially a Super Bowl champion. Jones and the Seattle Seahawks dominated the New England Patriots by a score of 29-13 in Santa Clara, CA, on Sunday night.
Jones was elevated from the Seahawks’ practice squad on Saturday. He was inactive for Seattle’s NFC Championship win over the Los Angeles Rams, but was bumped up to the active roster with the Seahawks dealing with a key injury in the running back room. Jones did not record any rushing statistics on Sunday, but he was in the game on special teams during kick returns and punts. Jones downed two punts during the game, with a key one coming early in the fourth quarter to set the Patriots back on the 4-yard line.
Jones began the season with the New Orleans Saints but was cut and picked up by the Seahawks in October. He appeared in three regular-season games for Seattle this season and played against the San Francisco 49ers in the Seahawks’ NFC divisional round win a few weeks ago. On the season, he’s got 10 carries for 42 yards.
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Jones spent two seasons as a wide receiver at Tennessee before being drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He racked up 22 receptions for 280 yards during his first season in Knoxville in 2020, but elevated his game during Josh Heupel’s first season at the helm. In 2021, Jones tallied 807 yards on 62 receptions with seven touchdowns. He also had 628 yards and one touchdown on kickoff returns. Jones went for 100+ receiving yards in games against South Carolina, Kentucky, and South Alabama during the 2021 season.
Jones wasn’t the only former Tennessee player suited up for the Super Bowl on Sunday. VFL Joshua Dobbs is the backup to New England starter Drake Maye, but he didn’t see any action on the field. Dobbs played in four total games this season, throwing for 65 yards on 7-of-10 passing throughout the season. He also 10 rushes for -5 yards on the season.
VFL Peyton Manning, who won Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, was also in attendance as an honorary game captain.
Jones and Dobbs were the 75th and 76th players in Tennessee history to be rostered for the Super Bowl in program history.
