Chris Payton-Jones (born August 13, 1995) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (UFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

College career

Payton-Jones started 26 games for

over the course of three seasons. As a junior, he had three interceptions, 10 pass breakups and 37 tackles, including three for loss and one sack and was named All-Big Ten honorable mention. Payton-Jones missed the first half of his senior season due to a knee injury.

College statistics

Professional career

Detroit Lions (first stint)

Payton-Jones signed with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on April 28, 2018. Payton-Jones failed to make the Lions' 53-man roster at the end of training camp and was waived by the team on September 1, 2018.

Arizona Cardinals

On September 3, 2018, Payton-Jones was signed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

practice squad. Jones was promoted to the Cardinals' active roster on November 20, 2018. Payton-Jones made his NFL debut on November 25, 2018, against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

. He was waived on November 27, 2018, and re-signed to the team's practice squad two days later. He was promoted to the active roster on December 18, 2018. Payton-Jones made his first career start on September 22, 2019, against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. Payton-Jones was waived by the Cardinals on October 9, 2019, and re-signed to the practice squad. On November 8, 2019, Payton-Jones was promoted to the active roster. On September 5, 2020, Payton-Jones was waived during the final roster cuts. He was re-signed to the practice squad a day later.

Detroit Lions (second stint)

On September 16, 2020, Payton-Jones was signed by the

off the Cardinals practice squad. He was waived on October 17. He was re-signed on October 21, but waived again on October 24.

Minnesota Vikings

Payton-Jones was claimed off waivers by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

on October 26, 2020.

Tennessee Titans

Payton-Jones signed with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

on April 23, 2021. He was released on September 6, 2021, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 10, 2021. He was waived on January 4, 2022, and re-signed to the practice squad.

Las Vegas Raiders

Payton-Jones signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

on June 13, 2022. He was released on August 23, 2022.

Seattle Sea Dragons

On November 17, 2022, Payton-Jones was drafted by the

Seattle Sea Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons were a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The Sea Dragons competed in the second incarnation of the XFL. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment as the Seattle Dragons ...

of the XFL. The Sea Dragons folded when the XFL and

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

merged to create the United Football League (UFL).

St. Louis Battlehawks

On January 5, 2024, Payton-Jones was selected by the St. Louis Battlehawks during the

2024 UFL dispersal draft The 2024 UFL dispersal draft was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2024 UFL season and disperse the rosters from the eight teams from its component conferences, the XFL and USFL, that were not retained i ...

. He signed with the team on January 29. He re-signed with the team on August 26, 2024. He was placed on injured reserve on May 20, 2025.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Payton-Jones, Chris 1995 births Living people Sandalwood High School alumni Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida American football cornerbacks Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Arizona Cardinals players Detroit Lions players Minnesota Vikings players Tennessee Titans players Las Vegas Raiders players Seattle Sea Dragons players St. Louis Battlehawks players