Packers: Safety Josh Jones clears waivers, per report

Josh Jones is now a free agent.

Last week, the Green Bay Packers released former second-round pick Josh Jones.

According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, the Packers waived Jones with a non-football illness designation. Demovsky added that it’s manageable and shouldn’t prevent him from playing.

But the former Packers safety remains without a team. According to ESPN’s Field Yates, Jones cleared waivers and has become a free agent.

This is probably the clearest indication that the Packers wouldn’t have been able to make a trade instead of waiving Jones. Jones reportedly wanted a trade earlier in the spring. While it took a few months for the team to move on, he now has the opportunity to join another team.

It’s entirely possible teams will wait until they’ve cut down their rosters to 53 players before signing him. It’s hard to imagine he will be waiting too long to find a new team. Jones is a talented player and is only entering his third season in the NFL.

One area where Green Bay could miss Jones is with his ability to play at linebacker, especially given the injuries the team has at the position.

Both Oren Burks and Curtis Bolton are currently out with injuries. The good news is that, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Burks won’t need surgery and might not need to go on injured reserve. That’s the positive, but having Jones as depth would’ve helped. And he also has the versatility to line up at linebacker or safety.

But with Jones wanting to be traded earlier this offseason, it may have been difficult for the team to keep him on the roster. And they do have good depth at safety with new starters Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage Jr., with Raven Greene and Ibraheim Campbell as the backups.

It will be interesting to see which team Jones eventually signs with.