Could James Jones Join the Indianapolis Colts?

Nov 28, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver James Jones (89) against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

James Jones, wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, might be in the market for a new uniform. Jones is coming off of a good season with 59 receptions and 817 yards. With players like Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson, it looks like the Packers are going to let Jones go to the open market. Jones expressed that he would prefer to return to Green Bay. Since it looks like that’s not going to happen he’s already been looking at other teams, specifically the Indianapolis Colts and the San Diego Chargers.

The Colts are going to be in the market for a strong receiver. T.Y. Hilton showed a lot of promise this past season. Da’Rick Rogers and LaVon Brazil might also be some great players to have on the bench. The biggest question mark revolves around future hall of famer Reggie Wayne. Wayne is coming off of an injury and time will tell how strong he’ll be.

The Colts need a solid receiver in case they can’t depend on Wayne as much as they’ve been able to in the past. Jones might be the perfect fit for that spot. Although Wayne and Jones are play different styles and even run different routes, Jones is versatile and so it Hilton. Between the two of them they can run any routes necessary.

The question for Jones will be value. How much would the Colts have to pay vs. how much production they’ll see? Will he be simply an insurance plan or be an integral part of the offense? Jones’ numbers form last season out him over all the wide receivers and tight ends except T.Y. Hilton. His numbers would have put him comfortably at the number two spot. He would have been a great producer for the team. Two seasons ago he had 14 touchdowns. That’s twice as many as the Colts leading receiver for that season and more than the top four receivers had combined for this past season.

The point is that Jones has a lot of potential for producing on the Colts. The Colts could easily get the bang for their buck. How many bucks would they have to spend? That’s a complicated question to answer. You have to look at the league averages along with the Colts and Packers current salaries. He won’t get paid top dollar because he’s not going to be a number one receiver for any team. If I had to guess I would figure he would make between one and two million a year plus bonuses.

I personally believe that he’s worth that for the Indianapolis Colts. He may even be worth a little more if it’s a shorter term contract. The Colts need to go for it and get a Superbowl right now and getting a player like Jones would help raise the level of their receiving squad, plus it would give them some insurance in case of injury.