Getty Arizona Cardinals LB Chandler Jones lines up against the San Francisco 49ers on October 10.
That’s an expensive T-shirt.
The NFL added $10,300 to the price tag for the shirt Chandler Jones had made to honor late Arizona Cardinals pass rusher Freddie Joe Nunn, according to Mike Florio with NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk.
Moments after becoming the Cardinals’ all-time leader in sacks Sunday, November 7, Jones celebrated with a tribute to Nunn, the longtime franchise record-holder who died October 16 at age 59.
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Jones posted a one-word tweet about the same time the fine was announced Friday, November 12:
After sacking San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo, Jones lifted up the front of his jersey to reveal a black T-shirt with a picture of Nunn and a message to the former Cardinals defensive star: Rest in peace.
Chandler Jones took this moment to honor the late Freddie Joe Nunn after surpassing him as the Cardinals all-time sack leader.
Florio reported that several members of Nunn’s family since have reached out to Jones to thank him for the gesture. He also noted that the fine was only $4,350 less than the league fined Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers for violations of the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols:
But, hey, uniform violations are uniform violations, as far as the NFL is concerned. (At least he wasn’t penalized for taunting.)
Nunn Held Sack Record for 29 Years
Jones talked about the tribute following the Cardinals’ 31-17 win over the 49ers.
“I wore that shirt for two games,” he told reporters after the game. “I wore it for the Green Bay game (October 28), but I didn’t get back there.”
Jones now has 67 sacks in his six seasons with Cardinals, topping Nunn’s 29-year record of 66.5.
Nunn played for the Cardinals from 1985, while the franchise was still in St. Louis, until 1993, when the team was still known as the Phoenix Cardinals.
After the game, Jones dedicated the sack to Nunn and his family.
Chandler Jones is a class act 👏
That sack gives Chandler Jones a franchise record 67.0 sacks with the Cardinals (76 games played).
The previous record holder was Freddie Joe Nunn who had 66.5 in 131 games between 1985-93.
It was Jones’ sixth sack of 2021 but his first since his five-sack performance in the Cardinals’ Week 1 road win in Tennessee.
Jones talked about his lack of sacks since Week 1 just two days before the game. He’s been aware of the Cardinals’ all-time sack record since joining the team in 2016 and that there was a good possibility he would break it one day.
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Hasaan Reddick Returns to Arizona
Despite breaking the franchise record, Jones ranks second on the team for sacks this season behind Markus Golden, whose nine sacks are tied for third-most in the NFL.
Jones and Golden will share the field with another league-leading pass rusher when the Carolina Panthers visit Arizona on Sunday, November 14.
Former Cardinals linebacker Hasaan Reddick has been a defensive star for the Panthers and ranks sixth in the NFL with 8.5 sacks this season.
Reddick was the Cardinals’ first-round draft pick in 2017 and spent his first four seasons in Arizona before joining the Panthers as free agent after the 2020 season. He had a career-high 12.5 sacks in his final season with the Cardinals.
Coach Kliff Kingsbury said the Cardinals “take a lot of pride” in Reddick’s success in Carolina.
“He’s one of the best players on the field when you turn on the tape each and every week,” Kingsbury told reporters. “We all cheer for him when he’s not playing against us. (He’s a) great person, one of the toughest football players I’ve been around. … I think the world of Haason, and I’m really happy for what he’s accomplishing.”
Reddick moved to outside linebacker in 2020 after playing his first three seasons inside, said Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.
“Haasan, once we moved him to outside linebacker, he was a beast,” Joseph told reporters.
“Once he got a chance to rush off the edge and be violent, it obviously showed that he’s going to be a top 10 rusher in this league in due time. He’s always been a tough player, a raw rusher, always hustling. But now you can see the football IQ and the knowledge of rushing on tape every single week. He’s winning at a high rate, and it’s fun to watch him when he hits the quarterback — but not this week hopefully,” he said.
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Cardinals’ Chandler Jones Tweets 1-Word Reaction Following T-Shirt Fine