NFL free agency: What star pass rusher Chandler Jones brings to the Las Vegas Raiders
After a quiet couple days in NFL free agency, the Las Vegas Raiders worked the phones Wednesday and made a deal and a trade.
The Raiders agreed to terms with star pass rusher and four-time Pro Bowler Chandler Jones, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.
The deal is reported to be for three years, $52.5 million with $34 million guaranteed, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said.
Las Vegas then traded defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the Indianapolis Colts for cornerback Rock Ya-Sin.
While Ngakoue was productive for the Raiders last season with 10 sacks, Jones has been consistent since entering the NFL in 2012 when he was drafted by the New England Patriots with the 12th overall pick.
Jones spent four seasons with the Patriots before he was traded to the Arizona Cardinals, where he spent the past six seasons.
Now Jones reunites with Josh McDaniels, the Raiders coach who was the offensive coordinator with the Patriots. He also reunites with defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who was the Patriots’ defensive line coach in 2012-2013.
Jones, 32, comes in with leadership qualities and can consistently get after the quarterback. The Raiders did plenty of that last season with a combination of Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby (eight sacks) and Ngakoue.
Pairing Jones with Crosby could turn into a dominant pass rusher duo under Graham.
Consider this: despite the 2020 season where Jones suffered a torn bicep in Week 5 and finished with one sack, he posted double-figure sacks seven times and had a streak of five straight seasons posting 10-plus sacks.
The Raiders hope those sacks carry over to the AFC West where Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Russell Wilson lead their respective teams.
In a recent Zoom call, Graham was asked about what kind of identity he wants to see from his defense.
“I want it to be reflective of Josh’s vision in terms of a smart, tough football team,” he said. “I want that to jump off the tape. Smart, eliminate penalties. We want to be physical. We’ll be able to tackle and we’re going to be able to get the ball away from the other team.”
In 10 seasons, he has 474 tackles, 107.5 sacks and 195.5 quarterback hits. Jones had pass-rushing grade of 87.7 last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
The news caught the attention of Crosby, who later received a FaceTime call from Jones.
The Raiders also reportedly agreed to deals with cornerback Darius Phillips, defensive tackle Bilal Nichols, running back Brandon Bolden, wide receiver Mack Hollins, cornerback Anthony Averett and fullback Jakob Johnson.
Las Vegas also released linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski and defensive end Carl Nassib.
This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 1:38 PM with the headline "NFL free agency: What star pass rusher Chandler Jones brings to the Las Vegas Raiders."
