Maurice Jones-Drew is happy to be playing for the Oakland Raiders and not just because he’s back home.
Jones-Drew, an eight-year NFL veteran, is a product of UCLA, grew up in the East Bay city of Antioch, and played for perennial powerhouse De La Salle High School, according to the Silver And Black Pride website. It’s good to be home.
“It’s going to be exciting to have everyone there, people that I grew up with that are Raider fans, season-ticket holders,” Jones-Drew said Wednesday. “It’s going to be exciting. I just want to go out there, try and play a perfect game, strive to be perfect, and we’ll see how it goes.”
The last two times he played in Oakland, he was a running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Both times, Jones-Drew suffered an injury. In the sixth game of the 2012 NFL season, Jones-Drew suffered a Lisfranc foot injury (a sprain, break, or ligament damage in the midfoot area) which ended his season. Then, on September 15 of last year, Charles Woodson stopped Jones-Drew four yards from the end zone with a shoulder-high tackle. Jones-Drew landed hard on his ankle on that play and was done for the day. Both times, the Raiders won the game.
The San Jose Mercury News reports that Jones-Drew has 12 carries for 33 yards as an NFL player in Oakland and didn’t make it to halftime of either game. He most likely won’t get to halftime in this preseason game, either. Still, he is looking forward to the upcoming season at home, and looking forward to playing injury-free. “I got hurt every year, but that’s part of football,” Jones-Drew said. “It happens. It’s one of those things. We’ll see how it goes this year.”
Jones-Drew’s history at the Coliseum isn’t all bad.
In the North Coast Section Division I championship game against San Leandro, he rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns and set up a touchdown with a 36-yard interception return to the 1-yard line. De La Salle won 42-14.
The running game, with Jones-Drew, Darren McFadden and Latavius Murray faring well, is one of the areas Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen is pleased about as the second preseason game approaches.
It’s a weird twist of fate that the injuries he sustained while playing for the Jaguars against the Raiders was what ended his career in Jacksonville and allowed him to sign as a free agent with the Raiders. The Raiders are hoping he will remain injury-free now that he is wearing Silver and Black,
