The Washington Commanders have terminated the contract of wide receiver Jacoby Jones after reaching an injury settlement, per the NFL transaction wire.
Jones, the 25-year-old undrafted receiver out of UCF—not to be confused with the Super Bowl-era return specialist of the same name—had been on IR with an undisclosed injury after the Commanders waived him with an injury designation at the end of August.
He cleared waivers and reverted to the reserve list, a move that typically means a player is done for the season unless a settlement is reached. Washington also released linebacker Curtis Jacobs and tight end Quentin Moore from IR with settlements.
The 6-foot-3, 228-pound Jones signed with Washington as an undrafted free agent in May 2025 after a winding college path that included Northwest Mississippi, Ohio, and a final season at UCF. He bounced between the practice squad and the 53-man roster last year.
After a preseason showing that included a touchdown, he was waived, then brought back. In November 2025 he was elevated for the Commanders’ Week 11 game against the Miami Dolphins in Madrid—the NFL’s first regular-season game in Spain—and recorded his only career catch, a 25-yard reception from Marcus Mariota.
He was waived two days later to make room for kicker Jake Moody, then re-signed to the practice squad. In January he signed a reserve/futures deal and returned for 2026 camp.
Jones appeared in all three 2026 preseason games and caught eight passes for 82 yards before the late-August roster crunch. An undisclosed injury ended his bid to stick as depth behind Terry McLaurin and the rest of a crowded receiver room.
Injury settlements allow teams to clear a roster spot and cap charge while giving the player a lump-sum payment and the freedom to sign elsewhere once healthy. Jones is now an unrestricted free agent in that sense and can seek a new opportunity if he recovers.
For Washington, the move is housekeeping as the 2026 season begins. Depth at receiver remains a work in progress, and cutting players from IR with settlements is a common way to manage the 90-man limit and injured-reserve designations without carrying players who will not contribute this year.
Jones’ NFL résumé is brief—one regular-season catch—but he showed enough to earn multiple looks from the same organization. Whether another team takes a chance will depend on how quickly he can get healthy and how he tests in workouts.
The Commanders’ other IR cuts follow the same pattern: limited regular-season production and injuries that made them unlikely to return in 2026.
Jones’ departure closes a two-year chapter that included a memorable international debut and the typical grind of an undrafted receiver fighting for snaps.
