The lowest point in Jonathan Owens’ life led to the best.
Cut by the Arizona Cardinals ahead of the 2019 NFL season, Owens said he was “heartbroken.” He’d had what he thought was a terrific training camp and was sure he was going to make the team.
“It was a big humbling experience for me,” he told USA TODAY Sports. “First time you get cut in your life. It’s basically somebody telling you you’re not good enough.”
Worse, as one week stretched into two without getting calls from any other teams, the doubts began to creep in. Owens knew he could play. But he was an undrafted free agent who’d spent his rookie year on injured reserve, and he’d heard the stories of guys like him getting cut and then just fading away.
That third week, however, Owens’ agent called. The Houston Texans wanted to bring him in for a tryout later that week.
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“I packed all my bags, my video games. I knew. It was just one of those things. I wasn’t going to let them send me back home,” Owens said.
There were six other safeties at the tryouts, some of whom were veterans. But Owens was the one they kept.
“That was September 2019,” he said. “I meet Simone seven months later.”
That’s Simone as in Simone Biles, now Owens’ wife. The two met on a dating app, Raya, in March 2020, got engaged in February 2022 and were married in April 2023.
Here’s what to know about Biles’ husband:
What does Jonathan Owens do?
Owens is a safety for the Chicago Bears.
His career is self-made. He was an undrafted free agent out of Missouri Western and signed with the Arizona Cardinals in April 2018. Less than a month later, he tore his ACL and spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve.
He was cut by the Cardinals at the end of training camp in 2019 and signed with the Houston Texans on Sept. 30, 2019. Owens spent most of that season on the practice squad, though he did make his NFL debut Nov. 21, 2019, against Indianapolis.
Owens moved between the Texans’ practice squad and the active roster the next two seasons, playing in 13 games and making two starts. He enjoyed a breakout season in 2022, starting all 17 games for the Texans and ranking second on the team with 125 tackles. He also had one sack.
“I’m a big believer in adversity builds character, builds who you are. Me being someone cut five times — if I was first-round draft pick, I wouldn’t be the person I am today,” Owens said. “I’ve had so many things not go my way, I started to realize I’m stressing about wrong things. Attitude and effort, those are the things you’re going to control. The outcome is going to take care of itself.”
Owens signed with the Green Bay Packers as a free agent in May 2023, days after he and Biles returned from their Mexico wedding. He spent one season there, playing in all 17 games and making 11 starts. In addition to 74 tackles, he had a sack and a forced fumble, and he also recovered a fumble for a touchdown.
“I’m just a little more free-spirited (now) and I think Jonathan has helped. His career, with the uncertainty, has helped. I’ve just tried not to control everything that I can’t control anymore,” Biles said.
How long has Jonathan Owens been in the NFL?
This will be Owens’ seventh season in the NFL. The Chicago Bears are his fourth team, after stops in Arizona, Houston and Green Bay.
‘I always make relationships with the rookies on the team, especially the undrafted rookies because that was me. I see myself in them,’ Owens said. ‘I was cut five times. I didn’t make 53-man roster until my fifth year in the league and now it’s three years in a row. I just want to give guys hope.’
Where is Jonathan Owens from?
He grew up in St. Louis and went to college at Missouri Western, where he was a starter his last two seasons. Owens was second-team all-conference as a senior and also was named Missouri Western’s male student-athlete of the year. He was on the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association academic honor roll all four years.
When did Jonathan Owens and Simone Biles get married?
They actually got married twice. Because they were having a destination wedding in Mexico, they had to get married in the United States first. Their official ceremony was April 22, 2023, at the Harris County Courthouse in Houston, followed by a second wedding May 6, 2023, in Cabo.
Does Jonathan Owens know anything about gymnastics?
He does now! In addition to cheering on his wife, Owens was seen keeping score at some of Biles’ meets this summer.
“My Mom and Dad — (meet organizers) never used to display scores from everybody, so they would take notes and scores of every athlete. At the last meet, Jonathan saw my parents doing it and he was like, `Where’d you get that? I need one of those!’ Because whenever he learns about something, he wants to really dive in,” Biles said after the U.S. championships in June.
“He’s kind of a nerd in that respect. In the best way!” she added. “So if he’s gonna learn about gymnastics, he’s gonna learn about it.”
For Owens, it’s simply a matter of respect.
While he and Biles don’t spend a lot of time talking about their respective athletic careers, he wanted to be knowledgeable when they did, rather than just responding, “Oh, that’s great!” Or, “I’m sorry, tomorrow will be better.”
He’s learned the names of the skills she does, where they are in each of her routines and what makes them difficult. He knows to breathe a sigh of relief when she’s done her wolf turn on beam, a skill that’s been the downfall of many a gymnast, and appreciates why her Yurchenko double pike is such a big deal.
“I just wanted to understand so I can know and have the conversations with her,” Owens said.
Mostly, though, Owens is just a proud husband.
“I just love getting to watch her in her environment,” he said. “She goes up there and does it, every freaking time. Surpasses what she’s supposed to do. I love that. I love that I get a backseat to see it all. I get to witness the greatness. I get to be able to sit back and watch the work she puts in.”
Could Jonathan Owens do any of Simone Biles’ skills?
In a word? No.
‘I know how hard it is,’ Owens said. ‘I appreciate the difficulty of what she’s doing. I would break my freaking neck.’
Will Jonathan Owens be in Paris?
For part of the competition, yes.
Biles said after the Olympic trials that the team gave Owens permission to go to Paris for a few days so he can see her compete. The Bears confirmed that, saying Owens is excused July 29 to Aug. 3. This despite the Bears having a preseason game Aug. 1 against the Houston Texans — the team Owens was playing for when he and Biles met.
‘We respect the Olympics. That’s a big deal,’ Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Monday. ‘He’s supporting the one he loves the most. I think that’s so cool that he gets to do that, we welcome that and it’s going to be awesome.
‘Go USA,’ Eberflus said, drawing laughter.
The time off will allow Owens to see Biles compete in both the team final, where the U.S. women are heavily favored to win gold, and the all-around final, where she’s likely to become only the third woman and first since 1968 to win two Olympic titles. The team final is July 30 and the all-around final is Aug. 1.
‘Anytime we can show up for one another in support, we just get super excited because our schedules don’t align that much,’ said Biles, who goes to as many of Owens’ games as she can. ‘So whenever it does, it’s really important for the both of us to show up in support.’
Paris will be the first time Owens will see Biles compete internationally. Friends and family were not allowed at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and last year’s world championships were during the heart of the NFL season.