Philadelphia Eagles Re-Sign Donnie Jones

The Philadelphia Eagles have officially announced a new contract for veteran punter Donnie Jones. It's a 3-year deal said to be worth up to $5.5 million, with only $1 million guaranteed.

Jones originally joined the Eagles last year on a one-year deal, which, due to a CBA stipulation, is actually the reason why he wasn't able to re-sign with the Eagles for anything more than the veteran's minimum until the official start of the 2014 free agency period. Jones entered training camp last year in a fierce punter battle with undrafted rookie punter Brad Wing. Jones, a veteran master of his craft, ended up winning the competition with ease. He went on to have a great season.

The re-signing of Jones was fully expected. Jones' punting performance in 2013 was the best the Eagles have had in recent history. Jones' punting prowess was valuable for the sake of his accuracy and precision. A total of 40.2% of Jones' punts were downed in the opponent's 20 yard line. Jones' 33 punts downed inside the 20 set a team record. Speaking of records, Jones' 40.5 net punting average also set a franchise record. The return of Jones bodes well for the Eagles' punting coverage unit which ranked 11th best in the NFL last year. Eagles head coach Chip Kelly truly values special teams, so I'm sure he's happy to have his punter back.

Long live Donnie Football!