The Las Vegas Raiders make their first big move in ’22 free agency, reuniting pass rusher Chandler Jones with some of his old pals in New England.
After two days of staying silent, the Las Vegas Raiders broke their silence in a huge way: Edge rusher Chandler Jones is joining the Silver and Black on a three-year deal worth upwards of $51 million. In a corresponding move, Pro Bowl alternate Yannick Ngakoue was dealt to the Colts, for cornerback Rock Ya-Sin.
Chandler Jones played for New England in ’12-’15, before being dealt to the Cardinals. The haul for Jones was a second-round pick in addition to offensive guard Jonathan Cooper; One of the few trades in the Bill Belichick era where the Patriots looked back, thinking they probably shouldn’t have done that.
Not only did Jones continue to take massive steps forward in Arizona, but New England failed to replace the star year after year. The edge rusher was a first-team All-Pro twice in his six years playing in the Grand Canyon state, as well as having seasons where he lead the league in various stats. including forced fumbles, tackles for loss, and even sacks.
Bringing in Chandler Jones meant finding a new home for Yannick. According to a report, a trade with Indianapolis involving Ngakoue started days ago, eventually being finalized today. The real final piece to this trade wasn’t the compensation, but rather Las Vegas grabbing their edge rusher of choice, before committing to moving Maxx Crosby’s ’21 counterpart.
The trade brought in cornerback Rock Ya-sin, who was taken just six picks before his now-teammate Trayvon Mullen. The two become the current projected starting outside cornerbacks for Las Vegas, in a move that might ultimately prove Indianapolis has won the battle for Casey Hayward.
However, neither team would end up with Hayward, as he signed with the Atlanta Falcons.
Ya-Sin, 25, is coming off his best season in the NFL, recording career lows in both completion percentage and opposing quarterback rating. Patrick Graham has been very vocal about the Raiders adding four or five good corners, and the former Colt is a piece of that puzzle.
There’s a lot to take in here, so let’s focus on three ways these moves help improve situations down in [Ya-] Sin City.
Raiders 2022 offseason: 3 reasons the defense got better on Day 1
Chandler Jones is elite
Let me keep this part short and sweet. Chandler Jones is good; Really good. In fact, Jones is so good, that he’s recorded double-digit sack totals for the last six years in a row (not including 2020, where he appeared in only 5 games).
Last season, Chandler finished with 10.5 sacks and 6 forced fumbles, despite missing two games. I talk about Ngakoue being a Pro Bowl alternative, but Jones was in. Not only that, in 2019, which was the former Cardinals’ last full season, he was a first-team All-Pro. If that isn’t enough to impress you, this same ’19 season, Jones finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.
The edge rusher’s accolades speak for themselves. He not only has those two first-team All-Pro’s I mentioned a little while ago but has finished top-three in the Defensive Player of the Year race twice.
In his six seasons with Arizona, he also managed to be available for every game four times, with one of the two exceptions being available for 15 of the 17 matchups.
Jones has it all – The talent, the body of work, and for the most part, he’s steadily available. Just a few days ago, the Las Angeles Chargers acquired Khalil Mack in a trade, allowing them to claim the probable best edge-rushing duo in the AFC West. Crosby and Jones have a chance to challenge that.
Raiders 2022 offseason: 3 reasons the defense got better on Day 1
Ya-Sin upgrades the secondary
One area defensive coordinator Patrick Graham hasn’t shied away from addressing is the cornerback unit. Graham has expressed the interest in adding four or five athletic corners he can plug and play, and Rock Ya-Sin goes a long way here.
With Casey Hayward’s future status still up in the air, Ya-Sin comes in as the immediate starter opposite of Trayvon Mullen. He’s coming off his best season as a pro, where he allowed a completion percentage of 53.3 and an opposing quarterback rating of 88.8. The cornerback was also able to break up 8 passes, as well as recover a fumble.
It’s true Casey Hayward is still the ideal option between the two, but what’s important is the Raiders have a solid plan-B in the event Hayward chooses to go to Indianapolis with Bradley. If Hayward returns, that’s also great, as the Raiders would be much deeper with stronger passing defenses.
The now-former Colt isn’t responsible for eye-popping numbers, but the athletic 25-year-old corner brings versatility to a position of need in the secondary. Entering his contract year, Ya-Sin has something to play for and should bring an added spark with him.
Ya-Sin was one of the picks the Colts gained in a trade with the New York Jets, who traded up to grab Sam Darnold at 3 in the 2019 NFL draft.
Raiders 2022 offseason: 3 reasons the defense got better on Day 1
Eyes to the future
During the 2022 season, the Raiders’ take an $8 million cap hit for the Yannick deal. Next season, however, Ngakoue’s deal is done and thus off the books for Vegas. This couldn’t come at a better time, as quarterback Derek Carr and Hunter Renfrow will need new contracts by this time.
Freeing up this cap space helps retain your franchise quarterback as well as his favorite weapon. Per sources, these are two players the Raiders’ new front office plans on keeping around, but neither player has officially entered the negotiation phase as of yet.
Renfrow was drafted in 2019; The same ’19 draft class that both Trayvon Mullen and Rock Ya-Sin hail from. The third-down superstar put up his first 1k yard season last year, where he was the only constant good in a receiving corps that struggled through the latter half of the season. For his efforts, Renfrow joined Maxx Crosby and AJ Cole in the Pro Bowl.
Carr has been the heart and soul of the Raiders since he was drafted in 2014. Going all the way back to the ’14 pre-season of his rookie year, you can find tales of how Carr took over the locker room.
Former Packer James Jones played with Carr and the Raiders this season. This was the year Matt Schaub was brought in to take over quarterback duties, but Derek Carr had other plans. As Jones tells it, the entire team knew there was no chance the Raiders head into the regular season without Carr as their starting quarterback.
Jones also dubbed Carr “mini Rodgers”; An extremely high praise being compared to the reigning back-to-back MVP. Funny enough, Carr and Rodgers are close friends, and remain close to this day. The Raider quarterback explained this past season how he constantly reaches out to Rodgers when he needs help, and Green Bay’s No.12 is always happy to assist Derek.
Raiders free agency 2022: 3 available targets of the utmost importance
The Las Vegas Raiders have big-time issues on both sides of the ball, and here are three available targets they need to attack immediately.
Entering the final year of his original contract extension, Dave Ziegler has been open about wanting to retain the quarterback, adding they’ll focus on it when it’s time. With more free money available next year from the Ya-Sin swap, it’s that much easier.