Twenty-six-year-old Ryan Jones, a former NFL linebacker and aspiring MMA fighter, was shot to death in a Reno, Nevada, apartment Sunday evening.
Two other men also were shot but are expected to recover, Fox Sports reported.
Jones became the first Montana Tech player to sign an NFL contract in 2014 when he signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Ravens. He also had a short contract with the New York Giants before exiting the NFL due to an injury.
“He was the perfect example and perfect role model for kids who thought it was Division I or bust,” Jones’ high school coach Rollins Stallworth told the Reno Gazette-Journal. “He showed that if you give it your all and play really hard, there’s a college and a level for you. His ego wasn’t too big that he wouldn’t go to junior college and his ego wasn’t too big that he wouldn’t go to Montana Tech at that level and excel, and he still got an opportunity with two NFL reams.”
Stallworth said it may have been Jones’ lack of fear that got him into a situation where the shooting occurred, but said he was “driven to become a success.”
Jones won his last MMA fight on May 20 by knockout in only 17 seconds.
“We can’t go into details yet because it’s an ongoing investigation,” Reno police spokesman Tim Broadway said about the shooting, adding that people were still being interviewed, USA Today reported.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.