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NFL has not been a smooth sailing for Jonathan Owens. He entered the NFL with the Cardinals in 2018 as an undrafted free agent from Division II Missouri Western State. From there, he is now in the seventh year in the league, having signed with the Bears in March. “Persistence. Because [I was] told I wasn’t good enough for the first three years of my career; just kept getting cut and [moved] up and down on the practice squad. But just being persistent and having that faith in God that everything was going to work out,” Owens said.
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Indeed, it paid him well. The St. Louis native signed with the Packers last year and opened the season as a backup. But he excelled in place of injured regular Rudy Ford and retained his starting position after Ford had recovered from his injury. This year, Owens announced his arrival in the Bears camp when he returned a blocked punt 21 yards for a touchdown in their 24-17 win over the Titans on September 8. it marked the first time that the Bears scored their first TD of a season on special teams in 26 years. Through this journey, uplifting his career is not just the only thing that motivated Owens, but his commitment to one of the most important persons in his life also has an equal share.
On November 27, he appeared in a casual sit-down interview with FOX 32’s Cassie Carlson, who asked him what motivated him to push through the intense league. ” NFL was always a dream, but I had a tragedy,” the 29-year-old stated.
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his stepfather, Nathaniel Cannon, lost his life in an armed robbery when the NFL player was at a camp going into his senior year. Cannon married Owens’ mother in 2001 and had been an integral part of his life since he was 5 years old. The Bears’ safety always addressed him as ‘Dad’. Unfortunately, to this day, he doesn’t know what went down, and the trauma he experienced is something he doesn’t want to open up about. However, this made things harder on his mother, Arthurine Cannon, who was disabled due to a debilitating muscle disease called Polymyositis. It was that moment that motivated him for good.
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“So, it was just one of those moments for me where it just gave me a different boost of energy because now I’m like, you know, I really want to get my mom in a better situation,” he confessed. While any other athlete would’ve let this news consume them, Jonathan Owens knew he couldn’t let it bring him down.
Not even seven days after the funeral, the NFL safety played in the Missouri Western’s season opener, and the rest is history. “I went on to have the best year off, you know, my college career. And Scouts took notice, and I often tell people, ‘It doesn’t matter where you come from, you know?&#8217;” He believed that if one is productive and plays well, they will find their way out of adversity. While his heroics have helped his mother and family to get recognition, having Simone beside him has also doubled the attention for them. Owens can recall the Houston Texans’ Week 16 game against the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021.
Owens picked off QB Justin Herbert in his first career interception and then added a fumble recovery as his mother and then-girlfriend Simone cheered him on from NRG Stadium. Last year talking about that in the Pivot Podcast, Owens had said, “The craziest thing was I was miked up that game, my mom, she was sitting next to Simone in the stand so obviously when I did made a play the TV put Simone on the stand, my mom was right there so my mom’s on like ESPN highlights.” Simone has embraced the elderly lady.
The gymnastics GOAT had once called Arthurine ‘the cutest mother-in-law’ in one of her Instagram stories. In fact, this year, before the NFL season started, she, along with Jonathan Owens gifted a house to Arthurine. “Amazing feeling man being able to buy your mom a house, for all the sacrifices. She deserves everything,” Owens had written in an Instagram post sharing the news. Lauding Owens, Simone has commented, “so proud of you baby,” on the post. Interestingly, Simone had revealed that it was after meeting Arthurine, Simone decided to marry Owens.
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In an interview with E News, Simone had shared how she knew that Owens was THE man. “I knew he was the one when I first met his mom. She has a little bit of a disability with her walking, she’s gotten a lot stronger, but how he treated his mother and how he treats women, I was like, ‘Wow’,” Simone had said. In fact, she did not miss to acknowledge Arthurine on Mother’s Day. Alongside her own mom Nellie Biles, for her mother-in-law Simone penned, “happy mother’s day to the best mother in law. thanks for giving me my best friend for life.” Indeed, Simone has turned the life of the elderly lady for better. And for Owens as well.
Simone Biles became the Safety’s pillar of strength
Jonathan Owens’ move to the Green Bay Packers changed the course of his NFL career. However, the day before he was flying out to Cabo to marry the Olympian, his agent heard from the team. The wedding festivities went on as expected, and as soon as the duo returned to the States, the Safety signed with his new team.
In fact, Simone Biles continued to support her beau through thick and thin. She attended as many games as she could, cheering him on from the sidelines. The 7x Olympic gold medalist has now become a regular at Soldier Field. During the Chicago Bear’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, the gymnast attended the game wearing an orange and blue Bears jacket and a clear bag with the Safety’s name and jersey number on it. Unfortunately, they lost 23-20.
Simone showed her excitement about Owens signing with the Bears on social media. She celebrated that she will no longer have to take connecting flights to visit her husband like she did when he played in Green Bay and expressed her love for the city of Chicago as well as hot dogs and pizza.
“Me and my wife, we’re both super excited,” Owens said. “You’ve seen she’s excited about the pizza. That’s her favorite food. She can’t wait to get here and experience that and experience the city of Chicago, the culture, and just be a part of this amazing organization.”
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Compared to how life was for him when the tragedy struck, things have picked up since then. His mother is now a local celebrity, and he enjoys watching his mother smile. In fact, he stated that they’re in a better position to get her things. “My family is in a better situation,” Jonathan Owens admitted. Simone Biles has always been one of his best critics. Any time the NFL safety made a mistake, she would always point it out and support him by keeping him motivated. Watching the G.O.A.T. dominate the mat every single time, some of that magic has stayed on to him.

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Struggling After Father’s Death, Jonathan Owens Reveals How NFL & Simone Biles Changed Mother’s Life