Las Vegas Raiders: Will the real Chandler Jones please stand up?
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders made a big splash by adding Chandler Jones this offseason, and through the first seven games with the team, he has made little impact.
Back in March of 2022, the Las Vegas Raiders swang for the fences in free agency, adding a former All-Pro edge rusher in Chandler Jones. After playing his first ten seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots, a span that saw him rack up 107.5 sacks, the expectation was that he would come in and be a perfect complement to Maxx Crosby.
However, through the first seven games of his Raiders career, he has looked nothing like the player who was twice named an All-Pro, and a four-time Pro Bowl selection. To date, Jones has only half of a sack this season, and while David Ziegler and Josh McDaniels said he makes an impact off the stat sheet, it is time for him to start making one on it.
The Raiders need help for Maxx Crosby
The whole reason for adding Jones this offseason was to take the pressure off of Crosby, a budding superstar who is considered one of the best young defensive players in the game. Instead, teams have been able to continue to try and double-team Crosby all season, as Jones has looked slow and old on the other side.
For this Raiders defense to work under Patrick Graham, things have to change, and one big thing is getting pressure. Over the past two weeks, Davis Mills and Andy Dalton have carved up the Raiders’ young secondary, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that the Raiders get no pass rush outside of No. 98.
Jones was brought in for a reason, and starting in Week 9, we have to see more of the guy who dominated offensive linemen through the first ten years of his career. Maybe Las Vegas got him too late in his career, but if he is going to continue to get playing time, the production has to improve in a hurry.