The Oakland Raiders have signed former Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones to a free-agent contract.
Jones was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2013 as a fourth round pick and backed up Ben Roethlisberger for five years before being released before the start of last season. He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars but was cut after two games and did not play in 2018.
Jones played five seasons for the Steelers from 2013-2018 with 19 games’ worth of experience that included five starts and a 3-2 mark as a starter. He played in 18 games.
The Raiders lost former Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron and recently signed quarterback Mike Glennon, who was a backup for the Arizona Cardinals last season.
Raider coach Jon Gruden said that Derek Carr is still the starter for Oakland but the front office and coaches are investigating drafting a quarterback and possibly trading to draft former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, who won the Heisman Trophy, with the No. 1 pick in the draft.
The Jones’ signing follows that of Mike Glennon to back up Derek Carr.
“Landry Jones is a guy who started and won some games in the league and he can help us with Antonio [Brown’s] transition as well,” Gruden said.
The Raiders recently traded for Brown, an All Proi and one of the best receivers in the NFL who played with Jones for five seasons in Pittsburgh.
“There are some interesting side things that Landry can bring also,” Gruden said.
Jones has a 3-2 record as a starter for Pittsburgh. He has completed 108 of 169 passing attempts (64 percent) for 1,310 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. His passing efficiency rate is 86.2.
Glennon, from North Carolina State, has played for Arizona, Chicago and Tampa Bay, the team that drafted him. He has completed 482 or 791 pass attempts (61 percent) for 5,107 yards with 35 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. His passer rating is 84.
The Raiders also have Nate Peterman, who started some for Buffalo last season.
Jones holds the following records from his career at Oklahoma:
- 71 (in a game) – Most passing attempts
- 617 (season) – Most passing attempts
- 2,183 (career) – Most passing attempts
- 46 (game) – Most passing completions
- 405 (season) – Most passing completions
- 1,388 (career) – Most passing completions
- 16,646 (career) – Most yards passing
- 27 (career) – 300 yard games
- 6 (career) – consecutive 300 yard games (tied with Sam Bradford)
- 5 (season) – 400 yard games
- 12 (career) – 400 yard games
- 123 (career) – Touchdown passes
- 16,271 (career) – Total offense (16,646 passing, -375 rushing)
- 47 – Consecutive starts
- 50 – Career starts
- 39 – Career victories
A native of Artesia, N.M., Jones set Big 12 Conference records in completions (1,388), passing yards (16,646) and touchdown passes (123), while his career passing yards ranked third in NCAA stats at the time he left Oklahoma.
As a senior in 2012, Jones earned All-Big 12 second-team honors in addition to winning the Sammy Baugh Award in 2010, an award given annually to the nation’s top collegiate passer.