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The timing couldn't be worse for Jeshaun Jones. The former Maryland receiver was suspended three games by the NFL on Tuesday for violating the league's substance abuse policy, derailing what had been his most productive preseason since entering the league.
Jones has spent the past two seasons on the Minnesota Viking's practice squad after going undrafted in 2024, and this preseason he was making a more credible case than he had before. He caught six passes for 80 yards across the exhibition slate, including a five-catch, 63-yard game against Baltimore. Final roster cuts are Sunday.
He'll be eligible to practice this week and play in the preseason finale against Denver before the suspension begins, but three games on the shelf in a crowded receiver room behind super star Justin Jefferson, emerging star Jordan Addison, veteran addition Jauan Jennings and fellow former Terp Tai Felton makes an already uphill battle that much steeper.
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It's a disappointing development for a player whose college career began with one of the most electric debuts in Maryland football history. On Sept. 1, 2018, Jones, a true freshman from Fort Myers, Florida scored touchdowns on each of his first three career touches against No. 23 Texas at FedEx Field. And he did it in every way imaginable: a 28-yard run on the opening drive, a 65-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Kasim Hill, and a 20-yard pass to Taivon Jacobs on a trick play.
He became only the fourth true freshman in FBS history to rush, catch and throw for a touchdown in his first game, joining a group that included eventual Heisman winner Marcus Mariota. The Terps won 34-29, one of two stunning upsets of the Longhorns.
Injuries slowed him — he missed the entire 2019 and 2020 seasons — and when he returned, he settled in as a reliable possession receiver rather than the explosive weapon that debut suggested. He finished his six-year Maryland career with 151 receptions (fifth in program history) for 2,040 yards (seventh) and 14 touchdowns (tied with Stefon Diggs for sixth) across 48 games. He led the team with 56 catches for 790 yards as a redshirt senior in 2023, the same season Taulia Tagovailoa broke the Big Ten's all-time passing record on a throw to Jones against Rutgers.
The suspension also puts a spotlight on the Vikings' other former Terp. Second-year receiver Tai Felton, the third-round pick out of Maryland last year who set the school's single-season record with 96 receptions for 1,124 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024 is pushing for a significant role. Felton is listed as the first backup to Jefferson on Minnesota's unofficial depth chart and is penciled in as a backup punt and kick returner.
Head coach Kevin O'Connell called Felton's camp showing "really good," projecting him as "a heck of a 48-man game-day roster, special teams player for us as well."
Felton caught three passes for 66 yards against the Ravens, including a 50-yard reception from J.J. McCarthy that flashed the deep speed that made him a first-team All-Big Ten selection and third-team All-American at Maryland. As a rookie last season, Felton played in all 17 games but saw most of his work on special teams — 293 snaps, nine tackles — with just three offensive receptions. With receiver Jalen Nailor gone to the Raiders, he should find an expanded role.
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