James Jones, how in the world did this happen?
He laughs because he knows there's no real good answer. And he smiles because he knows there's no point in getting indignant, either.
The fact is the veteran receiver was offered a deal apparently so unattractive that he had to leave Green Bay and enter free agency a year and a half ago. And then with Oakland in 2014 Jones caught 73 passes, including six for touchdowns, only to be cut by the Raiders after one season. And then he turned down other teams because the New York Giants pursued him so passionately, only to be dumped by the Giants at the end of training camp.
So what did Jones do? The receiver, who led the NFL with 14 TD receptions in 2012, returned to Green Bay for the minimum salary. And now he leads the 6-0 Packers with six receiving TDs and an average of 20.2 yards per catch.
And Jones won't wipe the smile off his face even as he winces while walking to his locker to sit after practice. This game hasn't always been kind to the 31-year-old Jones, but he endures it. Or rather, embraces it.
Jones could be bitter. He should be angry. He would be resentful, but that just isn't him. That would be turning his back on his past, on what he went through and on how those experiences guide him through life even now.
"Every time I really go through a struggle, I think of my mom," Jones said. "I stood next to my mom in front of 7-Eleven, and in front of gas stations, where she swallowed her pride and asked people for money just so we had food in our belly.
"You gotta do what you gotta do. It's kind of like I was prepared for these situations because of the way I grew up. My career is kind of like my life story. Lots of ups and downs, but God always puts me in the right spot. Always."
Well, this story starts in between some of those ups and downs.
We know Jones spent some of his youth in and out of homeless shelters before he went to Gunderson High School in San Jose, Calif., and then San Jose State, where his talent started to surface.
"I've known James a long time, going back to 2007," Packers general manager Ted Thompson said. "In January he was playing in an All-Star game in Houston, the first time I saw him.
"He had those good, strong hands then. We had a feeling he was going to be a good player."
Thompson drafted Jones in the third round that year and Jones played for the Packers for seven seasons, often as second fiddle to other wideouts. It was mostly a good situation _ he was part of a Super Bowl team _ but when Jones' contract was up at the end of 2013, the two sides could not agree on a new deal.
"My agent will never tell me what the Packers offered me," said Jones, who is represented by Frank Bauer. "He said he doesn't want me to know. He said, 'It's just better to take this deal that Reggie McKenzie is offering in Oakland.' And I trust my agent with all my heart."
Jones asked Bauer to call Thompson one more time; he wanted badly to come back to Green Bay. But players hire agents so sentiment and emotions do not interfere with business decisions. Oakland was 30 minutes from Jones' offseason home in San Jose.
Jones said his respectful goodbyes to Green Bay in February 2014. Former teammate Charles Woodson told him years ago to never burn any bridges, and that advice stuck. So he left with grace, thanking Thompson and McCarthy, who drafted him, after all.
"I thanked them for getting my dream started," Jones said.
The funny part? As Jones and his wife, Tamika, fastened their seat belts on the plane, with their toddler son and their new baby, she actually said, "We're not done with Green Bay. I feel it in my heart.
"We'll be back."
He thought maybe she wasn't ready to leave behind all their friends, from Packers president Mark Murphy's wife, Laurie, to the other wives and players and coaches.
But players don't usually come back until they're retired. Jones knew how this business worked. Teams were always going to do what was best for them.
He was going to have to do what was best for his little family.
In California, the Raiders treated him like he was The Man, which was kind of nice, and the media treated him like The Great Hope, which was a little bit of pressure. The Bay Area had a huge billboard with him on it.
"Like I was the face of the franchise -- almost," said Jones, a little uncomfortably.
He studied the playbook before he got to camp. Then he responded with great play. The one-hander against the Jets, which is probably one of the best catches of his career. The double move on his TD route to come back to beat Kansas City. The one-hander against Miami in London.
"I don't consider myself the smartest guy. But football, and learning a new playbook, is something that comes easy to me," Jones said.
But Oakland had a 3-13 record. When the Raiders got Michael Crabtree and drafted Amari Cooper, Jones was actually encouraged.
"I was thinking, 'Finally. We're finally getting a lot of play-makers around the quarterback.' "
But he was cut by the Raiders after 15 months with them.
"Never expected it," Jones said. "I was starting. I led the team in every category. I felt like I was, really, one of only a few bright spots on that team last year, especially free agent-wise. I helped the young quarterback (Derek Carr) out. I did what I could do on a team that was not good."
Still, Jones' parting words to McKenzie, the general manager, were of gratitude.
"I love the Raiders organization," Jones said. "I thanked him for the opportunity to play football."
But this time, Jones told his agent not to reach out to any other teams. He wanted to be wanted.
Some called, but none as much as the Giants. Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, a part of the Packers staff from 2006-13, was aware of Jones' good hands.
"They called 10-plus times," Jones said. "This was God saying, 'Hey, you said you wanted to feel wanted.' "
Jones put together a good camp. He had 15 catches for 187 yards in the preseason to lead all Giants receivers. When Jordy Nelson called him Aug. 22 to check in, Jones told him how well things were going.
On Aug. 23, Jones came off the practice field and friends surrounded him. "Man, did you hear about Jordy? He tore his ACL."
To Jones, Nelson and Randall Cobb weren't former teammates or just friends. They're brothers. "Tell me it ain't true," he texted Nelson.
It was. The thought of coming back to Green Bay never even crossed Jones' mind. The Giants cut him 13 days later. Looking back at it now, they probably already had had that roster figured out.
Two days after that, Sept. 7, Labor Day, he became a Green Bay Packer again heading into his ninth NFL season. Jones was let go by two teams within five months, but that didn't matter.
"In terms of his expectations at other places, if it didn't work out, so what?" Thompson said. "You know? He was well thought-of here.
"What played heaviest in his favor for us was the fact that this was James Jones. We know James Jones. There are other players available, but we don't know those guys like we know James Jones."
He's been healthy since a nagging knee issue in 2008, has cut down drastically on the drops from years ago and can be relied upon to make a tough, clutch catch. He's tough, playing the end of the 2013 with broken ribs. And Jones knows how to play for Aaron Rodgers.
"It's not like I run a 4.3 and past everybody, but I have a good knack on how to use my body and catch the ball with my strong hands," said Jones. "I pride myself on that. Aaron throws a hard ball and it comes out extremely fast. I know I have to get my head around earlier."
Jones moved back to the same locker and got the same old No. 89 and his family moved back to the same neighborhood to be surrounded by the same extended family. Only now, he gets texts from Derek Carr and Marcel Reece from Oakland, and McAdoo, Victor Cruz and Prince Amukamara from the New York to show their support.
"I'm not out there trying to prove any GM wrong," Jones said. "I'm just proud that I'm showing people I still have a lot left in the tank."
But he cannot resist teasing McCarthy sometimes: Why did you let me go in the first place? I should have been a Packer for life.
"I hope I do enough this year where I can get an extension and finish out my career here," said Jones. "But at the same time, I do understand the business end of it. I do understand Jordy is coming back next year. They have young stars in Randall, Davante (Adams) and Ty Montgomery."
So he's not bitter, and he's not angry. He's the same James Jones. And right now he's right where he's supposed to be, and that's good enough for the little kid standing next to a desperate woman outside a 7-Eleven.
"When you have kids and a wife of your own, you have newfound motivation," Jones said. "It is to provide for them. Make sure that they're good.
"So any pain that I feel, or days that I may feel tired _ they just cross my mind and I'm fresh all over again because I know they're depending on me."
