Roderick Earl Jones (March 3, 1964 – December 8, 2018) was a professional American football tight end for three seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs and the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

in the National Football League (NFL).

Early life

Born in

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a Richmond, California City Council, city council.

, Jones attended El Cerrito High School, a public school in nearby El Cerrito, played defensive end and tight end on the football team, and graduated in 1982.

Career

Jones played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the University of Washington in Seattle under head coach Don James. He was part of the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

team that beat

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

in the Orange Bowl and finished the season at earning a national title. in his senior season of

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, he left with the all-time receiving record for a UW tight end, with Selected by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in the eighth round of the

1987 NFL Draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Marq ...

, Jones played two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and one with the

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

. He then returned to the University of Washington, earning a degree in Ethnic Studies in 2000. Jones went on to spend nearly two decades within the athletic department as an

Death

Following a recent diagnosis of early-onset dementia at age 54, Jones shot himself in the head in his Seattle home and died several hours later at Harborview Medical Center. decided to donate his brain to the

Boston University School of Medicine The Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, formerly the Boston University School of Medicine, is one of the graduate schools of Boston University. Founded in 1848, the medical school was the first institution in the world ...

for CTE research.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Rod 1964 births 2018 deaths Players of American football from Richmond, California Players of American football from Seattle American football tight ends Washington Huskies football players Kansas City Chiefs players Seattle Seahawks players National Football League replacement players Suicides by firearm in Washington (state) 2018 suicides El Cerrito High School alumni