We will preview every player on the Cardinals roster leading up to training camp. This is about WR Zay Jones.
The Arizona Cardinals report to training camp on July 22 and begin the process of preparing for the regular season, forming the roster and determining starting jobs and roles on the team.
Leading up to the start of camp, we will take a look at every player on the offseason roster, their background, their contract, their play in 2024, questions they face and their roster outlook.
This focuses on receiver Zay Jones.
Zay Jones background, 2024 season
Jones enters his ninth NFL season and his second with the Cardinals. He entered the league in 2017 getting drafted in the second round by the Buffalo Bills. He spent two and a half seasons there before being traded to the Oakland Raiders in 2019 where he spent the rest of that year and the next two. He played for the Jacksonville Jaguars for two seasons after that before being released last year in April. He had his best season in 2022 for the Jags when he had 82 receptions for 823 yards and five touchdowns.
He signed with the Cardinals last offseason, was suspended for five games for an off-the-field issue from the previous year. He came back, appearing in 11 games but only had eight receptions for 84 yards. He saw more playing time as the team’s No. 3 receiver late in the year but only had 11 targets.
He re-signed with the Cardinals this offseason on a one-year contract.
Zay Jones 2025 contract details, cap hit
Jones signed a one-year, $2.4 million deal to return. He got $650,000 to sign and $650,000 of his $1.36 million salary is guaranteed. He can earn up to $340,000 in per-game roster bonuses.
His cap hit for the coming season will be $2.28 million, based on 11 games active. Any of his per-game roster bonus that he earns this year above that will count toward the 2026 salary cap.
Questions he faces, roster outlook
The first question many Cardinals fans wonder is why he was re-signed after only catching eight passes last season.
He battled injuries in 2023 with the Jags and then had low production and the suspension last year. Can he be worth a roster spot?
Because his playing time increased as the season progressed and everything head coach Jonathan Gannon said about Jones was positive, in addition to the amount of the guarantees in 2025, he should be viewed as a favorite to make the roster, albeit not a lock.
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