METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Veteran NFL linebacker Deion Jones grinned while pondering the mixed reaction he's received from friends and loved ones since signing with the New Orleans Saints.
Few can appreciate the intensity of the longstanding Saints-Falcons rivalry better than Jones, who grew up in New Orleans and began his NFL career with the Falcons as a second-round draft pick out of LSU in 2016.
“I have some friends and family that are very excited for
me to be here,” Jones said after the Saints' practice Sunday, noting that he already had bumped into a few old friends from Jesuit High School. “I also have some friends that were fans of me, and Atlanta fans. So, they say they've got a lot of stuff to take back right now.”
Jones joined the Saints after a recent tryout and will have played for every team in the NFC South Division if he winds up on New Orleans' regular-season roster.
After spending his first six seasons with the Falcons, he played one season in the AFC with Cleveland before returning to the NFC South with Carolina in 2023 and Tampa Bay from 2024 through last season.
“I basically made the whole trip now” through the division, Jones said. “Full circle, back home where it all started. And I’m looking to have a lot of fun with it.”
Jones, a 2017 Pro Bowl player for Atlanta, appeared in 17 games for the Buccaneers in 2025, all as a reserve linebacker and special teams regular. He is expected to have similar roles in New Orleans.
Saints coach Kellen Moore said that while his staff hopes Jones' local roots could be an asset, that had nothing to do with his evaluation as a player.
“He's a really good football player who's had success in our division for a long time,” Moore said. "Last year he played special teams in Tampa and had a nice little success there.
“Local ties are a nice bonus,” Moore continued. “It builds in a comfort level of all of us being on the same page. He understands the expectations here and what this place is all about.”
After his first practice with Saints on Saturday, Jones joined his new teammates to watch former New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees' induction speech at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
It was poignant moment for Jones, who was in high school in New Orleans in 2009, when Brees led the Saints to the franchise's only Super Bowl title. Back then, the Saints were a symbol of hope and rebirth in their city, which was still rebuilding from the widespread devastation of Hurricane Katrina four years earlier.
Jones eschewed the opportunity to boast about the late, game-clinching interceptions he had against Brees in 2016 and 2017, one of which he returned 90 yards for a touchdown in his first-career game in the Superdome.
“I didn’t really think about” those interceptions, Jones said. “Just knowing what he did for the city, competing against him and his intensity and how he carried the team, I mean, I just loved it on the other side of the ball. It made me play better, made me want elevate my style of play.”
Jones said that even when he played for the Falcons, he enjoyed seeing the Saints do well against any team but his, understanding what they meant to his relatives and people with whom he grew up.
““It was fun, always messing with my uncles and family about being the bad guy coming to the city,” Jones said. "I’ve always been the Saints supporter. I know what the Saints do for the city. I know this is the heartbeat; if the Saints are doing well, the city’s doing well.
“I had fun coming in and trying to disrupt that every now and again,” Jones continued. "But it’s a blessing to be on this side.”
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