Getty Dave Ziegler & Mark Davis of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Chandler Jones has been ruled out for the second week in a row by the Las Vegas Raiders and based on his recent activity on social media, it appears he could be out longer. Jones has far too big of a salary cap hit ($14.24 million) to simply not play.
Trading Jones could be the Raiders’ only option, according to Bleacher Report. Alex Ballentine pitched a trade that would send the veteran defensive end to the Denver Broncos for a 2024 fourth-round pick.
“Inter-division trades are rare, but they do happen. Chandler Jones’ best seasons as a player came from his days in Arizona with Vance Joseph serving as the team’s defensive coordinator,” Ballentine wrote in a September 13 column.
“These days, Joseph is back in Denver calling defense for the Raiders’ division rival.”
Trading within the division is never an ideal situation but the Raiders could be desperate to just get Jones off the roster, per Ballentine.
“Perhaps they would demand an additional seventh-round pick just to say they won the trade, but the Raiders should probably be willing to deal Jones to any team that is willing to take him at this point,” Ballentine wrote.
Jones is coming off a season with 4.5 sacks and has a big contract. Teams won’t be that motivated to trade for him but getting him for a low draft pick could be worth the risk for a team like the Broncos.
Insider Not Sure if Chandler Jones Will Return
With Chandler Jones continuing to air out grievances with the Raiders on social media, there’s no reason to believe his returning soon. The team remains quiet on the topic, which only makes it more difficult to get a grasp on the situation.
Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal isn’t sure what the timeline for a Jones return could be.
“The Raiders’ veteran pass rusher is dealing with what is being described as a ‘personal matter,’ so it is difficult to ascertain exactly what is going on. That also makes predicting a return impossible at this point,” Bonsignore wrote in a September 15 mailbag.
Right now, Jones is holding a roster spot right now so the Raiders do need a resolution as they could use that spot on a player who actually plays.
Tyree Wilson Still Getting Comfortable
Rookie defensive end Tyree Wilson was supposed to be brought along slowly but with Chandler Jones out, he’ll have to play more snaps. He had a rough debut against the Denver Broncos but that could be due to his still trying to get comfortable in defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s system, per Vincent Bonsingnore.
“Not sure what the rookie’s actual responsibility was last week, but in talking to someone who is familiar with Wilson, the sense is he probably isn’t completely comfortable in the scheme, and with his responsibilities, simply because it is all so new to him,” Bonsignore wrote.
“Somewhat as a result of that, he could have been reading the blocking assignment rather than being aggressive in his get-off focus. The consensus is, that the more he plays, the more comfortable he’ll get and the more aggressively he’ll play.”