The Saskatchewan Roughriders\u2019 final catch of the 2026 CFL pre-season was made by a linebacker.<\/p>\n
Vi Jones\u2019 interception in the waning seconds of Saturday\u2019s fourth quarter sealed the Saskatchewan Roughriders\u2019 31-27 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the first interception of my professional career,\u201d Jones said after the Roughriders\u2019 practised at Mosaic Stadium on Monday. \u201cI\u2019ve had a lot in practice, but not in a game setting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great feeling, being in the right spot at the right time and catching the ball. I wish I could have taken it home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones is hoping to find a football home in Saskatchewan after spending time with the Seattle Seahawks (2022), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2023-24) and Arizona Cardinals (2024-25).<\/p>\n
He continued a rich family tradition by playing in the NFL \u2014 dressing for three games with Seattle (2022) and seven with Tampa Bay (2024).<\/p>\n
His father, Robert Jones, was an NFL linebacker for 10 seasons after being drafted in the first round (24th overall) by the Dallas Cowboys in 1992.<\/p>\n
In addition to being named the NFC\u2019s top rookie, Jones capped the 1992 season by helping Dallas win the Super Bowl. In fact, the Cowboys won a title in three of his four seasons with the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the legacy my father started, all I knew was football while I was growing up,\u201d Vi Jones said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just respecting the game and trying to continue a legacy my father started \u2014 and to create a new one.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NFL ties extend to Vi\u2019s brothers, receivers Zay and Cayleb Jones. Zay, who is currently with the Arizona Cardinals, made his NFL debut in 2017. Cayleb was with the Philadelphia Eagles (2016) and Minnesota Vikings (2016-18).<\/p>\n
Their uncle, Jeff Blake, threw for 21,711 yards and 134 touchdowns during an NFL career that lasted from 1992 to 2005. Blake and Robert Jones were teammates at East Carolina.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey called him Shake-and-Blake,\u201d Vi Jones said with a laugh. \u201cMy uncle J.B., he definitely had a nice deep ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember as a little kid, we would go to the fields and he would be throwing to my cousins and my brothers and coaching them up. I would be watching him and saying, \u2018That is a fire deep ball,\u2019 with the spiral and the rainbow arc and the way it lands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vi Jones\u2019 career arc took him to USC (2017-18) and North Carolina State (2019-21) before he signed with Seattle as an undrafted free agent.<\/p>\n
The Seahawks took into consideration measurables from his pro day \u2014 such as a 4.52-second clocking in the 40-yard dash and a 36-inch vertical leap. Those are exceptional figures for a 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a superior athlete for a man of his size,\u201d Roughriders Head Coach Corey Mace said. \u201cYou saw a snippet of it with (the interception), but there\u2019s what he possesses with his frame, his length and his athletic ability.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s rangy for a linebacker. He obviously helps in coverage and being able to track perimeter runs and screens and stuff like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re molding him into trying to be a special teams demon for us. You know how much we champion that play. He\u2019s got all the physical tools to get that done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones led the Roughriders in special teams tackles (two) on Saturday, in addition to registering the game-clinching interception.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to bring my skills, my competitive nature and my versatility to this team,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to continue helping us win games.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis team won a Grey Cup last year. I want a piece of that. I want to feel what that\u2019s like.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been on winning teams, championship teams, but this is pro football and it\u2019s the CFL. I want to win a Grey Cup as well and hoist that trophy at the end of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along the way, he could add to his family\u2019s collection of championship rings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis opportunity \u2026 honestly, it means everything,\u201d concluded Jones, 28. \u201cI\u2019m just grateful and blessed to continue playing this game that I\u2019ve played since I was little.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just fulfilling my dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Saskatchewan Roughriders\u2019 final catch of the 2026 CFL pre-season was made by a linebacker. Vi Jones\u2019 interception…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":696395,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-696394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/696395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}