Bengals Sign Jones & Rayner

The Bengals today signed two veteran free agents, WR Matt Jones and K Dave Rayner.

Jones (6-6, 218; Arkansas) played four seasons (2005-08) for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He did not play in the NFL in 2009 and is classified as a fifth-year player.

He was a first-round draft pick (18th overall) by Jacksonville in 2005. In his four seasons with the Jaguars, he played in 54 games with 15 starts and caught 166 passes for 2153 yards (13.0 avg.) and 15 touchdowns. He also played in three postseason games, with nine catches for 142 yards and one TD.

Jones’ most productive season was 2008, when he led the team in receptions (65) and receiving yards (761) despite playing in only 12 games. He was suspended for the last three games of 2008 for a violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy, and he was released by Jacksonville on March 16, 2009.

Rayner (6-2, 210; Michigan State) is a fourth-year NFL player. He has 43 games of NFL experience, most recently during a two-game stint with the Bengals in 2008, when he was signed while K Shayne Graham was rehabbing from a groin injury.

Rayner also has played with Indianapolis in 2005, with Green Bay in 2006 and with both Kansas City and San Diego in 2007. He has made 42 of 59 field goal attempts (71.2 percent), with a long of 54 yards, and he is 48-of-49 on PATs. He has 16 touchbacks on 47 career kickoffs. Playing in Games 6-7 in 2008 for the Bengals, he made his only FG attempt (26 yards) and was three-for-three on PATs.

Rayner was with Washington in the 2009 preseason, going one-for-one on FGs and six-for-six on PATs. He was waived by the Redskins on Sept. 6, with an injury settlement, and did not play in the 2009 regular season.